The Music

Gamelan is a primarily percussive music, the word itself being taken from an ancient one meaning "to hammer." Bronze-keyed instruments and tuned gongs are struck with various wooden and padded mallets in interlocking flurries of sound. Supplemented by double-headed drums and bamboo flutes, the shimmering sound of gamelan accompany everything from secular dances to shadow plays to the most sacred temple ceremonies. Abrupt changes in tempo and volume mirror significant events in the accompanied performances for a combined effect that is both startling and compelling. The Balinese will state matter-of-factly that the goal of these carefully choreographed performances is to produce a kind of protective magic. For more detailed information about the various orchestras on which Tunas Mekar performs, visit our orchestras page.
As American musicians striving to perfect these exotic forms, Tunas Mekar's members can testify that magic requires practice. Memorizing pieces phrase-by-phrase without notation, Tunas Mekar has built a repertoire of traditional and contemporary works that the average village gamelan would be proud to claim. Whether in rehearsals of performances, Tunas Mekar's members work voluntarily in the spirit of community and shared artistic joy that is the hallmark of every Balinese group.

Enjoy listening to a track from Tunas Mekar's first CD. Through an arrangement with Indiego Promotions, Liquid Audio allows you to listen to and purchase the single, or purchase the entire CD on-line. All proceeds go towards supporting Tunas Mekar's on-going mission to study and promote awareness of Bali's uniquely beautiful performing arts and to purchase our exquisite new Semara Dana orchestra.

On the World Stage

In 1996, the governor of Bali invited Tunas Mekar to perform at the eighteenth annual Bali Arts Festival in the Capitol City of Denpasar. Tunas Mekar thus became the second American gamelan to be accorded this honor, the first being the brilliant and renowned Sekar Jaya from San Francisco, California. The success of this performance, as evidenced by the large and enthusiastic Balinese audience, lifted Tunas Mekar to a new level of understanding and confidence. A live telecast of the concert, which included performances by up-and-coming Balinese dancers, made Tunas Mekar instantly well known around the island. Subsequent articles in The Bali Post and Tempo, Indonesia's most widely read magazine, further cemented the group's repuatation as "the next big thing" on the global gamelan scene. Back in its Colorado home, Tunas Mekar continues to perform in schools, community cultural festivals and specially arranged concerts, pursuing the goals of musical perfection and human cooperation, and raising its hometown's awareness of a mysterious and magnificent culture.

We invite you, the greater gamelan on-line community, to enjoy with us the rich culture of Bali, Indonesia by browsing these pages and related links. Welcome to our village.


Gamelan Tunas Mekar is sponsored in part by the DU Lamont School of Music.