The Smith Department of Music presents a 30th Anniversary concert of the Smith Gamelan on Saturday, April 18 in the Conference Center from 4-6 and 7-9 pm. The Smith gamelan community, under the direction of Phil Acimovic, is putting on a special Javanese-style klenéngan in celebration of 30 years of music-making. Audience members are welcome to come and go during the two sessions. This event is free and open to the public.
A gamelan is an Indonesian orchestra made up primarily of percussion instruments, such as bronze gongs, xylophones, and drums in addition to strings and vocals. Gamelan performances sometimes include dancers and shadow puppets. Klenéngan are music-making sessions, semi-formal in atmosphere with food and drink, and lasting several hours. Audience members can move around during the performance to experience the music from different locations.
The Smith College Gamelan Ensemble was founded in the fall of 1995 by Margaret Sarkissian, Professor of Music at Smith, and Sumarsam, Professor of Music at Wesleyan University. Wesleyan needed a home for the Pélog half of their older gamelan set and Sarkissian, who had been hired as the college’s first ethnomusicologist, jumped at the opportunity.
This particular set of instruments, called Kyai Muncar Basuki, or “Sir Sparkling Prosperity,” arrived in the United States as part of the 1964 World's Fair in New York City. It is rented from Wesleyan University, where the Sléndro half remains.
The group has been led by several directors: Sumarsam (1995-2004, 2007-2016), I.M. Harjito (2000), Chris Miller (2004-07, 2008) and Darsono Hadiraharjo (2006-07), Maho Ishiguro (2016-2020), and Phil Acimovic (2021-2026). Several wonderful Javanese musicians and dancers have performed with the group over the years, including A.L. Suwardi, Maeny Sumarsam (dancer), I.M. Harjito, Denni Harjito (singer), I Nyoman Catra (dancer), B.R.M. Bambang Irawan (dancer), Wakidi Dwidjomartono, Darsono Hadiraharjo, and Veronica Retnaningsih (dancer).
The special anniversary event will include past directors and former members of the Smith College Gamelan Ensemble who have been invited to participate. As they like to say in class, the real purpose of the ensemble is simply to gather every week to make music together. All are welcome to help them celebrate thirty years of music-making and community.
