Dozens of researchers, lecturers, and students from various countries were seen playing gamelan in the courtyard of the UGM Faculty of Philosophy (Philosophy UGM) on Tuesday, Jul. 9, 2024. Enthusiastically, they played kendhang, saron, bonang, and gong, following the instructions of their instructor.
They participated in the AAS-in-Asia 2024 Conference, an event organized by the Association for Asian Studies in collaboration with Universitas Gadjah Mada.
The AAS-in-Asia Conference from July 9 to 11 provides a platform for academics specializing in Asian studies to exchange ideas and build connections.
The Gamelan Workshop was one of the conference’s noteworthy features, offering global academics a unique and valuable experience.
“This is my first time playing gamelan, and it’s been delightful. I had an excellent teacher who made it easy to follow along, and I’m now interested in learning more in the future,” said Mark Iñigo Tallara, a De La Salle University, Philippines, participant.
The Gamelan training was held in two sessions. The first session, starting at 10:00 AM WIB, included 16 participants playing the song “Lancaran Gugur Gunung,” while the second session at 1:30 PM WIB had over 20 participants playing “Suwe Ora Jamu”.
Due to the limited number of instruments, participants were divided into two sessions and took turns playing the available instruments.
Like Mark Tallara, most participants played gamelan for the first time. However, some had previous experience with gamelan and Javanese tembang.
They were members of gamelan groups and even served as gamelan instructors in their respective countries.
One participant who particularly stood out was Ilaria Meloni, an academic from La Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, who skillfully sang tembang accompanied by gamelan.
She studied gamelan and Javanese tembang at the Yogyakarta Arts Institute several years ago and actively engaged with this art form whenever possible.
“I still often play gamelan whenever I have the opportunity to visit Indonesia. I’m also pleased to see colleagues from various countries having the chance to learn gamelan. Although I was initially apprehensive because I didn’t know the instruments well, I enjoyed it after learning,” Meloni said.
Rona Utami, part of the organizing committee, said that one of the focuses of the AAS-in-Asia Conference is to provide an enjoyable experience during their time in Indonesia.
“Most of them already know about Indonesia, so many were also interested in trying one of Indonesia’s traditional arts, gamelan,” she explained.
In addition to the gamelan workshop, Philosophy UGM hosted seminars on Javanese, Arabic, Chinese, and Korean calligraphy on Wednesday, Jul. 10, 2024, the second day of the AAS-in-Asia Conference.
These workshops feature discussions and training sessions with calligraphy experts from various countries and are open to conference participants.
Report: Philosophy UGM
Editor: Triya Andriyani
Post-editor: Lintang