Colorado College’s Balinese Gamelan ensemble made its debut more than 20 years ago, in the spring of 1993, after Professor of Ethnomusicology Victoria Levine imported instruments from Bali and recruited Balinese master drummer I Made Lasmawan to direct the group.

Today Gamelan performs twice a year on campus, alongside the CC Balinese dancers (and sometimes dancers from across the U.S.), in addition to performing off campus as far away as Bali.

Giseleine Dogon ’17, a philosophy major and music minor, plays two different two-handed instruments in the group, one with eight keys and one with four.

She says she appreciates the beauty of the music while being able to contribute to it, as well as the overall learning experience of Gamelan. “I love that it’s challenging but it’s also simple. When I’m playing the gender wayang with the four keys, it’s hard to remember which order to play just those four keys, but it’s just four keys.” 

Dogon adds, “The music is more than just music. It also has a cultural link. Some of them are welcoming ceremony songs, some of them are for the Hindu gods, some of them are specific for holidays. They’re very unique in that sense. They all have a purpose.” 

Seven members make up the ensemble currently. But, she says, it could be larger. “It would be nice for [alumni] to know that if they were in town, they could also participate in the group,” Dogon says. “We need more people, because it sounds great with seven people, but it sounds even better with 14,
or 20!”

The Gamelan ensemble’s next performance is free and open to the public at 3 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 13, at Packard Hall. Listen to a recording of the group, and learn more about their performances (or how to get involved) by visiting www.coloradocollege.edu/gamelan