“It’s amazing, gamelan concerts always make me feel calm and peaceful,” said concert-goer Jeff Curtis.
He and the audience were treated to enchanting compositions played by gamelan musicians. On the first day, visitors were treated to a Javanese gamelan performance by the band Alligator Joy, as well as contemporary gamelan presented by the bands Beledrone and Si Pawit. Meanwhile, the second day featured classical Balinese gamelan music played by Gita Asmara and contemporary music by Bike-Bike.
At the opening of the concert, the Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia (KJRI) in Vancouver, Tuti Wahyuningsih Irman, said that the Vancouver audience is very fortunate because the city is one of the centers of development of the art of gamelan in North America. With this title, the Vancouver audience has many opportunities to enjoy various variations of classical and contemporary gamelan music.
Tuti expressed his appreciation to the organizers of the concert and local artists, including Indonesian artists, namely Sutrisno Hartana, I Putu Gede Sukaryana (Balot) and Smiet Abdul Hamid, who brought the art of Indonesian gamelan to the international stage. The Consulate General of Indonesia in Vancouver supported the holding of the gamelan concert from the beginning and, together with the organizers, used this activity to promote Indonesia, including organizing a presentation on Indonesian tourism on the first day by travel writer Pierre Langer.
Sales of Indonesian culinary delights, including a set menu of chicken satai, rendang, fried noodles and yellow rice at the concert venue during the two-day concert, also helped to encourage interest from the local community to attend.
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