University of Michigan Gamelan Ensemble

Art Center · Ann Arbor, MI, United States

About University of Michigan Gamelan Ensemble

Housed inside the University of Michigan's Earl V. Moore Building on the university's North Campus, the Gamelan Ensemble has performed Javanese and Balinese music since 1966, making it one of the longest running groups of its kind in the United States. The ensemble plays on two complete sets of instruments from the university's Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments: a Javanese gamelan named Kyai Telaga Madu, comprising roughly seventy five cast bronze gongs and related instruments, and a Balinese gamelan called Madu Biru.

Performances are staged in the Moore Building's McIntosh Theatre at 1100 Baits Drive in Ann Arbor, free of charge and without tickets, typically a few times each academic year. Recent and upcoming dates include an April 2025 performance and another scheduled for December 2026, part of what the School of Music, Theatre and Dance lists as its 2026-27 performance season. Pak Widodo, a musician from Java, has led the ensemble through its traditional Javanese repertoire in recent seasons, guiding dancers through movements drawn from classical epic stories, while Susan Walton is credited as director on recent event listings. The ensemble operates under the joint sponsorship of the School of Music, Theatre and Dance and the university's Center for Southeast Asian Studies, with past support from the Indonesian government and the university's Residential College.

Because the ensemble is based inside an academic building rather than a dedicated public venue, visitors should plan to attend at scheduled performance times rather than drop in unannounced; the Moore Building also houses practice rooms, a music library, and other School of Music, Theatre and Dance facilities not generally open to casual visitors. No public phone line or office hours specific to the ensemble were found, consistent with its structure as a student and community performing group rather than a commercial or consular operation. The surrounding Ann Arbor area has a long history of academic engagement with Indonesian studies, reflected in the Center for Southeast Asian Studies' continued role as a co-sponsor of the group's public performances each season.

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Indonesian Art Center in United States

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