A multicultural celebration of food, music, costume and dance with special appearances by the CMS Jazz Combo, Balinese Gamelan Galak Tika and Rambax, MIT Senegalese drumming Ensemble.
MIT Chamber Music Society Jazz Combo
Bounce, Nate Smith (b. 1974)
- Keala Kaumeheiwa, coach, bass
- Sahin Naqvi, tenor saxophone
- Alex Mijailovic, guitar
- Jonathan Gilad, drums
Gamelan Galak Tika
Traditional and new Balinese music and dance
Gamalan Galak Tika’s festival performance will feature new music by Dewa Ketut Alit (visiting artist and guest artistic director). The group was founded in 1993 (and still led) by Professor Evan Ziporyn. Galak Tika is dedicated to commissioning and performing new works by Balinese and American composers, for gamelan and mixed ensembles of gamelan and Western instruments, as well as performing traditional Balinese music and dance.
The word gamelan means “to hammer”; the term refers generally to the large percussion orchestras of Java and Bali. The primary instruments are gongs, metallophones, and hand drums, with cymbals, vocals, bamboo flutes, and spiked fiddles used, as well. Gamelan is the wellspring of all music in Bali, both sacred and secular. The Balinese people are ardent practitioners of a unique form of Hinduism and gamelan is necessary for all ritual events, as well as to mark any large social occasion. There are dozens of different types of gamelans in Bali, ranging from large metal orchestras to bamboo ensembles, vocal groups, and groups dedicated to the imitation of frog sounds. All the music is marked by the use of one of two non-tempered pentatonic scales—pelog or slendro—and by rhythmically precise interlocking parts known as kotekan.
Rambax MIT
Sabar drumming and dance tradition of the Wolof people of Senegal, West Africa
Rambax MIT is co-directed by master Senegalese drummer Lamine Touré and Professor Patricia Tang. It is an ensemble dedicated to learning the sabar drumming and dance tradition of the Wolof people of Senegal, West Africa. Lamine Touré comes from a family of griots who have passed on the tradition of sabar drumming for many generations. The students of Rambax MIT are carrying on that tradition and are proud to share their love of sabar!
