Westport, CT - Get away from the everyday with an afternoon of music and dance from Bali, Indonesia, performed by Gamelan Galak Tika.
On Saturday, May 4, starting at 3 pm in the Library’s Trefz Forum, Gamelan Galak Tika returns to Westport with original compositions by Gusti Komin, who has been hailed as one of the leading composers, performers, and teachers of Balinese music of his generation.
Galak Tika has been at the forefront of innovative, cross-cultural music for Balinese gamelan — the instrument and music of Indonesia — since 1993. Founded at MIT by Evan Ziporyn, Desak Madé Suarti Laksmi, and I Nyoman Catra, Galak Tika is currently directed by Komin, drawing its membership from across the Boston community as well as MIT students and staff. The name “Galak Tika” is Bahasa Kawi (classical Javanese, a dialect of Sanskrit) for “intense togetherness.”
The group has performed at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, BAM, Boston Symphony Hall, Jordan Hall, several Bang on a Can Marathons, Southern Exposure, the Cleveland Museum of Art, Zankel Hall, the Boston Museum of Science, and the Kripalu Yoga Institute, along with many east coast universities. In 2005, Galak Tika performed at the Bali International Arts Festival and in numerous villages around the island. Watch a performance of the group here.
Originally from the village of Pengosekan, Bali, Gusti Komin Darta first studied with his father, renowned musician Gusti Ketut Kerta, and began performing professionally for shadow puppet plays (wayang) at the age of 9. As a teenager, he enrolled at the prestigious national arts conservatory, now known as the Indonesian Institute for the Arts.
Widely acknowledged as master of gendér wayang, a style of gamelan music played in Bali, Komin is one of its foremost contemporary composers blending traditional and modern gamelan music in imaginative ways. An exacting teacher and rebellious spirit, Komin writes music that explodes conventions and pushes limitations of even the strongest performers.
Event Information
The Music of Bali with Gamelan Galak Tika
Saturday, May 4
3 pm
The Westport Library (Trefz Forum)
Event link: https://westportlibrary.org/event/the-music-of-bali/
About The Westport Library
Founded in 1886, built in 1908, and transformed in 2019, The Westport Library is one of the most active and innovative public libraries in the nation, devoted to enriching the intellectual and creative lives of the community. Among its many highlights are a full collection of books for children, teens, and adults; an engaging and colorful Children’s Library; a MakerSpace; a Library of Things; a Seed Library; a robust café and store; and professional art installations that rotate throughout the year. The Westport Library is also home to Verso Studios, replete with an SSL hybrid analog sound studio and broadcast control suite featuring a state-of-the-art console and six robotic cameras, and the Trefz Forum, an open, flexible space that can accommodate up to 600 patrons and features an 18-foot video wall, 35-foot stage, state-of-the-art sound, and theatrical lighting. Situated in the heart of downtown Westport overlooking the scenic Saugatuck River, The Westport Library annually hosts StoryFest, the largest literary festival in Connecticut, and VersoFest, its multi-day music and media festival. Above all, the Library strives to serve the whole community as a vibrant gathering spot where people of all ages come to seek information, gain knowledge, exchange ideas, and share experiences. For more information, visitwestportlibrary.org.