February 12, 2009
Javanese performing arts on display Feb. 20 at Meany Hall
The UW School of Music and Southeast Asia Center will present an evening of Javanese performing arts showcasing shadow puppetry, gamelan music and dance at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20, in Meany Hall.
Featured artists will include shadow master Ki Midiyanto, an 11th-generation puppet master; Cornish College’s ensemble-in-residence Gamelan Pacifica; vocalist Jessika Kenney, drummer Sutrisno Hartana and dancers Emma Lux and Christina Sunardi.
Gamelan are ensembles largely composed of struck idiophones in the shape of gongs and slabs. Although many such ensembles are found throughout Southeast Asia, gamelan are primarily associated with musical cultures on the Indonesian islands of Java, Madura, Bali, and Lombok.
The Javanese shadow puppet play is a complex form of theater. It is many things to many people in Java and around the world — entertainment, a way to engage the supernatural, a means of education, and a form of deep philosophical reflection.
Patrons holding a ticket for the evening’s performance may arrive early for a pre-concert conversation in the Meany west lobby. Christina Sunardi, assistant professor and ethnomusicologist on the UW School of Music faculty, will lead a discussion and question-and-answer session about Javanese performing arts. The pre-concert conversation will be from 6:45 to 7:15 p.m.
Tickets are $15 for general admission and $10 for students and seniors. For more information, call the UW Arts Ticket Office at 206-553-4880, or visit online at www.music.washington.edu.
