Day of Percussion features exotic “being”
Guest artists and workshops draw percussionists from across the region
He’s the proud new “father” of an exotic Indonesian baby who hasn’t yet received a name. Kenyon Williams, MSUM Music Department faculty member, reveals his baby’s name in a traditional Indonesian ceremony, complete with a ritualistic Javanese meal, on Friday, Nov. 5, at noon in the MSUM Art Gallery.
The “baby” is a gamelan, and belongs to the university, even though Williams’ eyes light up like a new father passing out cigars whenever he talks about it. The gamelan includes gongs, drums and metal-bar xylophone-like instruments made of iron. Each gamelan is built as an individual, hand-made unit, and is tuned to fit only that unit, so an instrument from one gamelan cannot be used in another gamelan, according to Williams, who seems as taken with Indonesian culture as he is with the gamelan.
“Much of Indonesian culture is based upon the national motto, ‘Unity in Diversity,’ and the idea that no one person is strong, but united with others we can move mountains,” he says. “The gamelan is a beautiful illustration of this concept. No one instrument in a gamelan really serves as a suitable soloist. However when the parts are put together, a complete portrait and soundscape emerges, a soundscape unlike anything you’ve ever heard!”
The addition of a gamelan to the Music Department’s percussion studio is a major achievement for Williams. “Many universities consider a gamelan the pinnacle of world music study, since the culture it represents is so rich, with a highly respected history of musical performance and music theory – theory that is completely dissimilar to Western music,” he explains.
Williams spent a month in Indonesia last summer to study the musical culture with master teachers. “The music of Indonesia is unlike anything in the Western musical perspective. It is performed differently, felt differently, notated differently and even thought about differently,” he says.
Following the naming ceremony, the gamelan will be on display in the gallery until it moves to the Hansen Theatre stage for Saturday’s afternoon performance. The gamelan will be featured at a 4 p.m. concert as part of MSUM’s bi-annual Day of Percussion, which includes afternoon clinics and workshops for percussion students from across a wide region. Joko Sutrisno, a Javanese gamelan performer, will bring “Sumunar,” a gamelan ensemble from Minneapolis complete with vocalists and dancers, to perform with MSUM’s new gamelan, which by then will have its own name.
The evening concert at 7:30 p.m. highlights music of the Caribbean. University and high school steel drum bands from North Dakota and Minnesota join MSUM’s steel drum band, as well as internationally acclaimed guest artists Darren Dyke on steel drum and Chris Hanning on drumset.
The gallery event, workshops and the concerts are open to the public. The gallery event is free; concert tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students, and include both concerts and all workshops during the Day of Percussion. Purchase tickets at the door the day of the event. For more information, contact Kenyon Williams at (218) 477-4610, or willdrum@mnstate.edu.