Founders
Pak Suweca is one of Bali’s most brilliant musicians, Suweca began studying Balinese music with his father. Considered one of the most talented drummers on the island, he studied formally at the national performing arts academy in Denpasar (STSI). He has performed throughout Asia, Europe, and the United States. In 1974, he received a Rockefeller grant to teach Balinese music at Brown University and has since taught at the Center for World Music, UCLA, UC Berkeley, San Francisco State, Loyola University and the University of Montreal, as well as in Bali at STSI.
Rachel Cooper
Rachel has studied and performed Balinese music and dance since 1974. She lived and studied in Indonesia for five and a half years. She was the National Performing Arts Coordinator for the Festival of Indonesia from 1988-1992. A co-founder and former president and co-director of Gamelan Sekar Jaya, she owns the current Sekar Jaya gong kebyar instruments. Rachel is currently the Director of Performing Arts & Public Programs at the Asia Society in New York.
Michael Tenzer
After teaching at Yale from 1986-96, Michael moved to University of British Columbia where is Professor of Music. He teaches ethnomusicology, composition, music theory and gamelan performance, and co-directs the doctoral program in ethnomusicology. He is co-founder of Gamelan Sekar Jaya and was its first Musical Director from 1983-86, during which time he led the group on its first tour to Bali. He composes for Balinese gamelan as well as for western orchestra and chamber ensembles, and is the author of Balinese Music and Gamelan Gong Kebyar: The Art of Twentieth Century Balinese Music . [more]