The Gamelan and Dance Arts Unit (Gasita) of the Vocational College, Universitas Gadjah Mada (SV UGM), proudly represented Indonesia at the 2025 Ensemble of Gamelan (EOG), held at Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP), Malaysia, from Jun. 12 to 15, 2025.
Ten female students from the Applied English Program of SV UGM, who are active members of Gasita, participated in the event, accompanied by one faculty advisor and one coach.
The students were Noriko Adinda City Chitako, Kezia Dwina Nathania, Jovita Agusti Cahyaningtyas, Farizka Delisyah Putri, Jihan Permatasari, Shofi Najla Kurniawan, Amelinda Nurfauziah, Vinka Julia Alta, Aprilia Nanda Vibiyanti Putri, and Nabila Berliani.
They were accompanied by Dr. Erizal Lugman, faculty advisor from the Applied English Program, and Gangsar Yogi Armansyah, as coach.
Gasita was invited to perform as one of the groups during the EOG 2025 series of events.
The program opened with a traditional Malay gamelan and dance performance by the host, Universiti Teknologi Petronas.
During the occasion, Gasita members also had the opportunity to learn and play the Malay gamelan, which differs from the Javanese version in both technique and tonal structure.
For Gasita’s performance, the students were assigned to different instruments as follows: Jihan played Demung 1, Najla on Demung 2, Kezia on Saron 1 (also acting as sinden), Amel on Saron 2, Noriko on Peking (also as sinden), Vinka on Bonang 1, Farizka on Bonang 2, Nanda on Gong, Nabila on Slenthem, and Jovita on Kenong.
Noriko, serving as Gasita’s chairperson, expressed her gratitude for the chance to perform Indonesian traditional arts abroad.
Even though they played the Malay version of gamelan, which differs from Javanese gamelan, she was proud of their achievement.
“We managed to play it well,” she said on Thursday, Jun. 19, 2025.
Dr. Erizal Lugman conveyed his pride in the students’ enthusiasm for promoting Javanese gamelan culture to audiences in Malaysia and the international community.
He hoped the experience would further motivate them to continue creating and contributing on a global scale.
“We hope our students will continue to create and promote gamelan culture both locally and internationally,” he said.
Similar hopes were echoed by Noriko, who wished that Gasita would continue to expand its network, serve as a platform for expression and creativity in karawitan (Javanese traditional music), and foster a supportive and inclusive environment for its members.
Author: Kezia Dwina Nathania
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Lintang Andwyna
Photographs: Gasita SV UGM