Master Drummer Ega Robot joins the University Gamelan as they play the gamelan music of the Sundanese people, an ethnic group that inhabits roughly the western third of the island of Java.
The April 10th performance by the University Gamelan has been canceled. The April 11th perofrmance will take place as originally scheduled.
For tickets to the April 11th performance, call 412-624-7529 or visit music.pitt.edu/tickets.Tickets in advance: general admission is $8.50; non-Pitt students and seniors are $5. At the door: general admission is $12; non-Pitt students and seniors are $8. Pitt students: free with valid ID.
Musicians and dancers from the Indonesian College of Performing Arts (STSI) in Bandung, Indonesia will present an evening of vocal music, instrumental music, and dance. The performers will explore a broad range of cultural expressions from the ancient aristocratic tembang Sunda Cianjuran (Sundanese vocal poetry accompanied by zither and flute) to the ebullient music of bamboo instruments and the popular jaipongan dance that thrilled audiences in the 1980s.
On Friday, September 6, the Pitt Arts Arts Festival will take place at the William Pitt Union from noon–5:30 p.m. This year, the Arts Festival will feature two outstanding Department of Music Ensembles: the University Gamelan and the Men's Glee Glub. Live music performances by these and other groups will take place throughout the afternoon on the east porch of the William Pitt Union (facing the Cathedral). Pitt Arts will also have a photobooth on the WPU lawn.
One Night Only! The University Gamelan, directed by Andrew Weintraub, performs Bamboo and Bronze: Flute and Gamelan Music of West Java. Special guest artist and bamboo flute virtuoso Burhan Sukarma will perform on suling/bamboo flute. Kaitlyn Myers will lead members of the ensemble as they perform on Pitt's Gamelan Degung Ligar Pasundan.
Pitt’s Gamelan, Carpathian Music Ensemble, and African Music and Dance Ensemble present an afternoon of music, dancing, and food. With special guest Sounds of Steel, a steel drum band from Urban Pathaways Charter School.
Today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette features a preview of this weekend's University Gamelan concert including an extensive video interview with Professor of Music and Department Chair Andrew Weintraub.
When the stage lights come up, the auditorium is enveloped in glowing warmth. The bright lights reflect off tuned metal bowls, gongs, and xylophones. When the musicians begin to play, western ears, used to the artificially even intervals of equal-tempered tuning, bask in the sound of intervals that hew to naturally occurring overtones.
Joining the University Gamelan this year are vocalists Rika Rafika and virtuoso drummer Suherlan. Rafika is an award-winning vocalist who sings both traditional music and pop Sunda. She has 10 albums to her credit already and shows no signs of slowing down. Suherlan is a virtuoso drummer who has been performing with Rafika since 2005.