Gamelan Sekar Jaya

Founded in 1979, Gamelan Sekar Jaya (GSJ) was the first community based Balinese gamelan in the United States. It has performed all over North America and has toured Bali five times (1985, 1992, 1995, 2000, and 2003) and in 2000 was awarded the Dharma Kusuma Award for Cultural Service by the Balinese government, the highest such honor given.
GSJ was founded by I Wayan Suweca, Rachel Cooper and Michael Tenzer in 1979. It began as a workshop at the Center for World Music which at the time was located in the San Francisco bay area.
Along with performing traditional works, the group has been part of cross-cultural collaborations. It also commissioned the creation of a new score to the 1935 silent film, Legong: Dance of the Virgins, performing with the Club Foot Orchestra. A DVD of the film with this new score was released in 2004.

Gamelan Sekar Jaya

01 - jaya semara
02 - gita giri jaya
03 - sindu arsa
04 - tabuh pisan bangun anyar
05 - tabuh telu sikep ngindang
06 - byomantara

American works for Balinese Gamelan Orchestra

01 - kekembangam
02 - banyuari
03 - aneh tapi nyata
04 - situ banda
05 - khayalan tiga


Live in San Francisco 03-20-04

01 - tabuh telu sikep ngindang (soaring eagle)
02 - panyenbrama
03 - tari neyalan
04 - jaya baya
05 - swia
06 - kebyar duduk
07 - gandrun manis

More Sights and Sounds

GSJ with The Residents:

Bridegroom of Blood

The Residents have collaborated with members of Gamelan Sekar Jaya on a number of projects. This collection includes two versions of Bridegroom of Blood, one recorded at the Brava Theater from Icky Flix, and one from Gamelan Sekar Jaya's anniversary concert at the Cowell Theater. The Cowell performance includes a string section. The other selections are from the Wormwood Fillmore '98 show, an arrangement of Santa Dog for Gamelan, a sketch for Gamelan which was never performed, and the ethereal Gamelan based instrumental version of Burn my Bones from Animal Lover. 34 minutes.