FIVE ARTS CENTRE in collaboration with The Actors Studio presents

a gamelan concert of traditional and contemporary music led by SUNETRA FERNANDO

with contemporary music composed by Sunetra Fernando + Michael Veerapen + Tan Sooi Beng Suhaimi Mohd Zain + Pak I Wayan Rajeg performers Colleen Wong | Eric Kok | Jillian Ooi | Juanita Ismail | Kamarul Sanjiv Arunasalam | Shalini Gonzaga | Sujatha Arunasalam Sunetra Fernando | Susan Sarah John | Yong Joh Lin with Pak I Wayan Rajeg | Chee Sek Thim | Bernard Goh and friends for selected pieces Dates 2-5 SEPTEMBER 1999 Venue EXPERIMENTAL THEATRE, KOMPLEKS BUDAYA NEGARA JALAN TUN ISMAIL, KUALA LUMPUR Time 2, 3, 4 SEPTEMBER - 8.30 P.M. 4 & 5 SEPTEMBER - 3.00 P.M. Tickets RM 25 - EVENING SHOWS | RM 20 - MATINEE available at The Actor’s Studio Theatre (tel: 294 5400 / 292 5927) Five Arts Centre (tel: 715 4858) Rhythm in Bronze ’99 highlights the textures of the gamelan. The variety of style and sound sets out to reflect the range of resonances that is part of the gamelan’s repertoire. It offers different energies and expresses a range of vocabularies which are brought together and merged - particularly in contemporary compositions. The concert features the Gamelan Melayu with a twist, including some re-invented pieces, two Javanese Gamelan suites, a couple of Balinese pieces, following the Gong Kebyar style composed for the Gamelan Melayu by Pak I Wayan Rajeg, and a contemporary repertoire with compositions by Michael Veerapen, Suhaimi Mohd Zain, Tan Sooi Beng, Pak I Wayan Rajeg and Sunetra Fernando. In 1997 a performance called ‘Rhythm in Bronze’ thrilled the hearts of many Malaysians who simply wanted to enjoy the pleasure of good sound and the warmth of feeling its distinctive local flavour. One writer said, " the effort to marry the traditional sound with a modern sensibility was really appreciated" - perhaps because we are so much a blend of old and new, East and West. Five Arts Centre in collaboration with The Actor’s Studio is now proud to present Rhythm in Bronze ’99 from the 2nd - 5th of September 1999, at the Experimental Theatre. Once again Malaysian audiences will be treated to a gamelan concert of traditional and contemporary music, led by Sunetra Fernando, who will present her own compositions as well as those by Michael Veerapen, Suhaimi Mohd. Zain and Tan Sooi Beng. Sunetra Fernando is well known for creating music that builds on the strengths of tradition whilst drawing on the textures of the contemporary. Her work has always enticed audiences with their conventionally tuneful yet distinctly modern sensibility. She has used the gamelan in collaboration with theatre directors Krishen Jit, Joe Hasham and Janet Pillai to create and arrange music that interweaves with drama and text in Scorpion Orchid (1995), Trees (1997 ) and Suara Rimba (1994). Rhythm in Bronze ’99 will undoubtedly be yet another exciting collage of sound and sensibility, bringing together a distinguished list of composers as well as a talented and accomplished group of musicians. Should you need more information please contact us at 715 4858 and we will be most happy to assist. The rehearsal process has been a most unusual and interesting one. On the one hand the musicians’ score differs from piece to piece and they are thus required to read from number notation and staff notation. On the other, the ensemble has also learnt music orally, working with Pak Wayan without notation and relying only on listening and memory. Workshop rehearsals with Pak Wayan have been integral to the process. He teaches using a combination of tactics : with and without notation. This has pushed the ensemble to make several discoveries about the nature of learning by listening and absorbing. A vital part of the concert is its contemporary repertoire. It is here that the Gamelan becomes Gamelan ’99, a vehicle for contemporary expression. With cutting edge work from a line-up of composers who have been instrumental in developing Malaysian music, the programme will undoubtedly convey a sense of how to use a traditional ensemble respectfully, creatively and with excitement. Sunetra Fernando August 1999   THE COMPOSERS SUNETRA FERNANDO is currently a music lecturer at Universiti Malaya, a singer with The Choristers and member of Five Arts Centre. has worked as music director, composer, arranger, artistic director and musician for theatre productions with a strong music component. has conducted choral works with large and small choirs has trained musicians in Javanese Gamelan and worked as composer, arranger and artistic director for gamelan concerts. has done research on the music of Mak Yong as ritual theatre in Kelantan and South Thailand; Kulintangan gong-chime ensemble in North Borneo and Southern Philippines; and Central Javanese Gamelan in Indonesia. recent productions include In Pasture and Woodlands (1999 - The Choristers), Consort (1999 - The Choristers), The Trees (1997 - The Actor’s Studio), The Reluctant Saint (1997- The Redemptorist Order), Rhythm in Bronze : A Gamelan Concert (1997 - Five Arts Centre) MICHAEL VEERAPEN has been a professional musician for over twenty years and made a distinctive name for himself as one of Malaysia’s leading musicians particularly in jazz and music production. his involvement in composing for the gamelan is part of his interest in exploring new directions in music. His composition for Rhythm in Bronze in 1997 was undoubtedly one of the major highlights of the show. TAN SOOI BENG is Professor of Music at Universiti Sains Malaysia and instrumental in the setting up of the Music Department in USM. has a strong base in Western Classical music and Ethnomusicology, whilst being intimately concerned with the traditional music of Malaysia. has published pioneering work on her research in these areas and continues to work in the crucial area of music education and the development of a music curriculum. SUHAIMI MOHD ZAIN affectionately known as Pak Ngah and widely known as Malaysia’s premier composer and arranger of music that bridges Malay musical traditions and the latest in music technology. produces top-selling Malay albums and composes for major national functions and contemporary theatre PAK I WAYAN RAJEG a top Balinese musician, Pak Wayan has been resident in Malaysia since the early 1990s and the past few years have seen him teaching Balinese gamelan at USM borne by his deep understanding of two very different styles, in this concert Pak Wayan successfully transfers the Balinese style onto the Gamelan Melayu ensemble in his compositions which are specially arranged for the Gamelan Melayu