The Tropentheater proudly presents the first International Gamelan Festival Amsterdam.

Highlights of this first edition include performances by a gamelan orchestra with musicians from North Bali, the birthplace of the revolutionary kebyar style, a gamelan orchestra with musicians from Surakarta (Java), in cooperation with a number of top European gamelan musicians, and two European-based gamelan groups. A rare gamelan of giant bamboo marimbas, Jegog, from West Bali will feature at the Roots Open Air festival, and I Wayan Dibia will create a large-scale Tjak Massal, Bali's famed vocal chant/movement/dance genre.

Newly commissioned instrumental works by acclaimed composers from Bali, Java, the US, and Germany will be presented in the context of a conference, with a topic focusing on continuity and separation in contemporary gamelan. Experienced dancers and musicians are invited to participate in the Master Classes in Javanese and North-Balinese music and dance forms.

The IGFA will take place in the Royal Tropical Institute and the Gamelanhuis in Amsterdam. We will be happy to welcome you in Amsterdam, a vibrant international city, where gamelan first set foot on shore in the West.

Based on an idea by ANMARO Asia Arts.