Nusantara Arts will bring its Balinese Semar Peguligan gamelan ensemble to Hudson Valley Community College for two interactive workshops — taught by Gusti Komin Darta and Reisa Avanti — and a full‑length concert showcasing electrifying music and elegant dancing.

Gamelan, from the islands of Indonesia, is some of the oldest continuously played music in the world. It has developed and spread across thousands of islands in the archipelago of Nusantara (modern‑day Indonesia), with many distinct ensembles, music theories and styles. Gamelan music has nourished Indonesian cultures for more than a thousand years.

Nusantara Arts works to nourish our community with it today. The group teaches and performs gamelan music from both Bali and Java on four unique sets of instruments. Its large Balinese ensemble is a 7‑tone semar pegulingan‑style set. Semar pegulingan is a rare style of Balinese gamelan with roots in the old royal courts. The ensemble’s set is versatile and can play a variety of compositions, including rarely heard traditional music, pelegongan and Lotring compositions from the 1920s, as well as modern and experimental works. Semar pegulingan is known for its sweet and light character.