Sumunar Gamelan Ensemble's latest album,
Sayuk: Together in Harmony
is available to purchase online now! New and traditional compositions showcase both the versatility of the ensemble and the rich tones of the instruments used for the recording, which are part of the collection of the National Music Museum in Vermillion, SD.
To purchase online, go to http://www.CDBaby.com
On Friday, November 7, Sumunar Gamelan Ensemble presents Celebrating Cultural Vistas: an evening of traditional music and new compositions, including a unique collaboration with the Good Samaritan United Methodist Chancel Choir, and the Balinese monkey chant performed by the Normandale French Immersion Student Chorale.
Sumunar is pleased to announce a scholarship program for youth (age 7 - 18) in the dance and gamelan classes. Scholarships can cover up to 75% of the tuition costs. Learn more.
Sumunar Gamelan and Dance Ensemble:
Summer term runs from July 21 to August 28 (exceptions: see Classes Page).
On the second Sunday of each month, we invite anyone interested to visit us at the Sumunar Studio, where our classes and rehearsals are held. We'll introduce you to our activities and programs, our staff and musicians, perform briefly, give you an opportunity to try playing yourself, and offer some light refreshments. This is at Room B-24 (lower level) in the University Technology Building located at 1313, 5th St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414.
Next Date: Sunday May 9th at 5:30 pm (No Sumunar Second Sunday in June, July and August)
In July, 2010, Sumunar members did a two-week tour of central and western Java visiting four major cities: Jakarta, Bandung, Surakarta, and Yogyakarta. The group gave about a dozen performances at universities, theaters, civic centers, and on national public radio.
The study tour was the fulfillment of a long-time dream for the Sumunar organization. The objectives for the project were the following:
1. To experience gamelan and dance performance in its Indonesian environment to better understand and appreciate it both artistically and culturally.
2. To learn from and collaborate with various Indonesian performing groups through performance exchanges, observations and discussions.
3. To make connections that will lead to ongoing collaborative projects, both in Indonesia and in the United States.
The performance repertoire the Sumunar Ensemble took to Indonesia included arrangements of American song material that could be performed in collaboration with Indonesian groups. In these pieces--including “Wondrous Love,” “Foundation,” “Holy Manna,” and “Shady Grove,” the language, melodies, and vocal style are clearly Western, while the tuning, instrumentation, and overall musical sound are distinctly Indonesian. The combination of cultural elements is soon clear to listeners.
Sumunar has had the good fortune to receive several grants this year for the purpose of funding school residencies; in these activities, students become involved in gamelan music making and in Indonesian dance, with concomitant introduction to Indonesian culture. Funding sources include the following:
Arts Access and Arts Learning activities are made possible, in part, by grants provided by the Minnesota State Arts Board, through an appropriation by the Minnesota state legislature from the Minnesota arts and culture fund, with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.
United Arts Fund, a program of COMPAS (School Arts grant), including contributions from hundreds of employees at companies throughout Minnesota
Metropolitan Regional Arts Council Arts Learning grant.
This activity is funded, in part,the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund as appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.
This unique cross-cultural collaboration brought together Japanese Nihon Buyoh, a dance style seen in kabuki theater, and Indonesian gamelan music. The original performance piece is entitled “Laughing Waters.” The sound and sight of flowing water is connected with both artistic traditions involved, and is also an important symbol for the Twin Cities and Minnesota. The commissioned piece was performed on the Pantages Theater stage at the Minneapolis MOSAIC celebration on Saturday, June 4, 2011 (time TBA). For more information, see www.greentproductions.org.
Have you ever wished you could fly? Google Earth is a wonderful computer program that allows you to explore remote areas that you’d never visit in person. You can fly (virtually) across the world and zoom it to see things in fantastic detail. Visit http://www.google.com/earth/index.html to download the free desktop software. Perhaps the best place to start is to type in your own home address into the “fly to” box. You’ll be amazed at how much detail you can see.
Google provides a sightseeing tour when you first open the program to show you some examples of the power of their system. Not everyplace in the world has equally high resolution satellite images. Not surprisingly, Google provides exquisite detail of their own headquarters in California. You can almost read the license plates on the cars in the parking lot. You might also enjoy exploring the Grand Canyon in Arizona and the Forbidden City in Beijing, as well as some of the other places they’ve identified.
Google Earth is a good way to explore Indonesia and to learn about environmental issues there. For example, the rapid expansion of oil palm plantations can be vividly seen in G.E. images.
