Tag: gamelan

2023 Gamelan Workshops at Moberly Arts and Cultural Centre

Gamelan & Wayang (Shadow Puppets) Workshop and Performance

At Moberly Arts and Cultural Centre,

7646 Prince Albert St., Vancouver V5X 3Z4

After vacuum for over three years, the Vancouver Community Gamelan Society (VCGS) come back and this time with special guest teacher from Indonesia (including Dr. Sutrisno Hartana and other guests/members of the VCGS) to offer free workshops for Javanese Gamelan and/or wayang (shadow puppets) on September 2 and 9, and 16th respectively.

Moberly Arts and Cultural Centre Location
Map of Workshop Location

This workshop and performance are suitable for everyone who interested to learn, explore, and collaborate with our special guest teacher from Indonesia. This workshop and performance offers people a unique opportunity to discover different concepts of musical tuning system and performing arts tradition from another culture

What is gamelan? Gamelan is an Indonesian traditional orchestra ensembles largely consisting of gongs and keyed percussion instruments, originating from the island of Java and Bali.

Suitable for young students and adults (families are welcome!), this workshop combines East and West music and arts practices including traditional and contemporary Gamelan, as well as wayang shadow puppet such as how to manipulate puppets, explanation of their characters, gestures, and dialogue for both orally and “kinesthetically” responses.

Wayang workshop at Moberley Community Centre Vancouver, Canada

Sutrisno on far right, is shown explaining musicians at one of the previous workshops for gamelan and wayang held at Moberly Arts Centre, Vancouver, BC. Canada.

Workshops at Moberly Arts Centre

The set of Javanese gamelan instruments named “Alligator Joy” has found a new home at the Moberly Arts and Cultural Centre in South Vancouver. The distinctive bright green colour of the “Alligator Joy” instruments is a familiar sight to many Vancouverites who have enjoyed the music of the gamelan while it was housed at the Western Front for many years. Dr. Sutrisno Hartana will be introducing the set of gamelan instruments to the local community through a series a workshops.

He will also be demonstrating the art of wayang kulit, a form of Indonesian shadow puppetry. This is a traditional type of entertainment with narrative and song provided by a puppet master, who is usually accompanied by gamelan music from the collection of instruments. Although wayang is an ancient art form, it remains popular in many parts of Indonesia, particularly on the islands of Java and Bali.

Steven Chang wrote an article about Dr. Hartana’s expertise and background as a puppet master and gamelan player.

Local man keeps Indonesian shadow puppetry alive in Vancouver
Sutrisno Hartana is one of the few puppet masters in the city

Steven Chang, author of a story published on November 15, 2019 in The Langara Voice, a news magazine created by journalism students.

MOBERLY ARTS & CULTURAL CENTRE – 7646 Prince Albert Street
Vancouver, BC Phone: 604.718.6521
www.moberlyarts.ca email:moberly@vancouver.ca

Post-Doctoral Plans and Projects

Dr. Sutrisno Hartana has been living in Vancouver, Canada for 20 years while maintaining his career through teaching part time at universities (the University of British Columbia, and Simon Fraser University, among others) and performing. See examples on this website by clicking here.

He is searching for a full time teaching position either at a university or college of arts while also looking for publishers/sponsors/collaborators who are interested in publishing his writing or presenting his works.

Sutrisno offers a performance/workshop for gamelan and/or wayang, for families, schools, and communities in Canada and elsewhere. He also provides an online tutorial based on his knowledge and expertise described above. To find out more about Sutrisno’s work please enjoy these video documents of performances that he is involved in as a composer, instructor, artistic director, puppeteer (dalang) and performer.

Read More About Dr. Sutrisno Hartana’s Dissertation “Origins, Journeys, Encounters: A Cultural Analysis of Wayang Performances in North America”.