Composers Wanted!

Javanese Gamelan Composition Project

In the midst of Covid, Nusantara Arts’ Artist-To-Artist initiative brought together a group of Javanese gamelan composers for a historic endeavor to preserve gamelan by encouraging new creativity in the traditional arts.

“Composers Wanted!” presented a series of new Javanese gamelan compositions in classic gendhing song forms. These pieces were written during Covid by talented composers and recorded by an expert group of musicians led by Pak Wakidi, at the home of Ki Purbo Asmoro.

The funding for this project was provided by gamelan lovers around the world and the Indonesian Embassy in Washington, D.C.

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  • Javanese Dance: Beksan: "Lesmana Sarpakenaka" - by Wahyu Suntoso Prabowo and Galuh Sinta Sari

    Javanese Dance: Beksan: "Lesmana Sarpakenaka" - by Wahyu Suntoso Prabowo and Galuh Sinta Sari

    Pak Wahyu Santoso Prabowo created this dance fragment partly out of a desire to have a female example of kiprahan movements and sexually-charged gandrungan movements (which is culturally/stereotypically non-feminine)—neither of which existed in the classical Central Javanese dance world yet. He chose the character Sarpakenaka of the Ramayana, as she would fit these types of movements and there was no treatment of her yet in the dance world as a main character.