We have seven antique Gender Wayang sets at Mekar Bhuana, but only four sets have casings. These four sets have been lovingly restored by founder Vaughan Hatch.
The most intimate of all gamelan ensembles, Gender Wayang are usually played in a pair or a quartet with the musicians facing each other. This gamelan is soft-sounding and is used to accompany puppet shows, as well as wedding, tooth filing, and cremation ceremonies. This is considered to be the most technically demanding of all Balinese music.
Our group plays several styles including Teges Kanginan, Sanur, Tabanan and Pacung, Gianyar. We have focused, however, on preserving the Teges and Sanur repertoires.
In 2008, our conservation of the Teges style was supported by an invitation to perform at the first world music festival in China, as part of Shanghai Expo 2010. We were also the first organisation to send professional Balinese musicians to New Zealand when we were invited in 1999 to perform Gender Wayang and wayang kulit at the Festival of Asia and Beat Gamelan Festival.
Watch a video of one of our more recently restored sets:
Check out more videos of our gender wayang quartet on our YouTube channel.
Donate to help us further restore and reconstruct our other sets, like this one:
You can take gender wayang lessons or workshops with us at Mekar Bhuana or remotely: enquire now. You can also hire our group for your event or special occasion.
