Past performances

Thursday, April 6, 2023 - 7:00pm

Join GRK and students from UR and VCU for a free, family friendly performance of traditional Balinese and Javanese music and dance, featuring master artists Peni Candra Rini and Gusti Sudarta!

Sunday, April 2, 2023 - 3:00pm

Master artists Peni Candra Rini and Gusti Sudarta join Gamelan Raga Kusuma and student performers for the spring Global Sounds concert. Free, family friendly and laid back concert including performances by student and community West African, Japanese, Brazilian and Indonesian ensembles. Westhampton Green. (Camp Concert Hall, Rain Location).

Friday, March 31, 2023 - 8:00pm

GRK accompanies master artist Peni Candra Rini in a concert of traditional Javanese music, joined by the William and Mary Middle Eastern ensemble led by Dr. Anne Rasmussen. Part of the MACSEM regional ethnomusicology conference. Free and open to the public!

Sunday, November 20, 2022 - 3:00pm

Join GRK and other community ensembles and student performers for a free, laid back concert of musics from Indonesia, Japan, West Africa and Brazil. Audience will be invited on stage after the concert to try the instruments.

Thursday, June 2, 2022 - 7:30pm

Richmond's own Gamelan Raga Kusuma will play a concert of traditional and contemporary music for Javanese and Balinese gamelan (Indonesian gong orchestra). Works by Astita, Lucier, Lotring, Reich, Windha and others. Guest appearance by Rumput. Audience will be invited to try the instruments after the show. $8 advance, $10 at doors. Ticket link: https://www.firehousetheatre.org/gamelan-ensemble

Saturday, May 21, 2022 - 3:00pm

Join GRK for a free performance of Javanese gadhon (chamber) gamelan music. Audience will be invited to try the instruments after the performance.

Saturday, April 9, 2022 - 3:00pm

Join GRK for a family-friendly Cage-ian Musicircus, organized by Brian Jones and including: No BS Brass, River City Taiko, Ezibu Muntu Drummers, Schoolwork, Tim Turner, Jones/Whitaker/Hawkins/Pollard, Wrong Worshippers, Tommy Birchett Duo, Elliot Shelton, Paul Hansen, Tom Stevens, David Esleck, Prabir Metha, and Jennifer Cable.

Thursday, November 18, 2021 - 7:30pm

Join GRK for a free performance at VCU's Singleton Center! We will be performing traditional Javanese and Balinese gamelan music, and will be joined by students from VCU's percussion ensemble. The audience will be invited to try out the instruments after the performance!

Sunday, September 26, 2021 - 6:00pm

Interested in trying gamelan music? Join us for a free community workshop! No prior experience required. (Vaccination and masking are required.) Participants must RSVP in advance to amcgraw@richmond.edu

Tuesday, September 21, 2021 - 7:30pm to Wednesday, September 22, 2021 - 9:00pm

One of Bali's leading performing troupes, Gamelan Cudamani, will be offering workshops and a performance at the University of Richmond on September 21 and 22. All activities are free and open to the public, but reservations are required, and masks must be worn at all times. Workshops: Tuesday September 21, 7 pm. Modlin Center, University of Richmond. Separate workshops in Music, Dance, and Martial Arts. Performance: Wednesday September 22, 7:30 pm, Modlin Center, University of Richmond. More information and reservation information: modlin.richmond.edu

Sunday, April 19, 2020 - 3:00pm

Family-friendly matinee of music from around the world. UR and community ensembles perform Brazilian, West-African, Javanese, Balinese, and Japanese musics.

Thursday, April 2, 2020 - 7:30pm

Gamelan Raga Kusuma will present traditional Balinese and Javanese gamelan works, accompanying Balinese master dancer Gusti Sudarta.

Saturday, March 28, 2020 - 7:30pm

Gusti Sudarta presents an evening of traditional shadow theater, accompanied by Raga Kusuma, and including a short opening set by Rumput. Sudarta will provide a pre-concert workshop on Balinese kecak for Yale students. Free and open to the public.

Thursday, March 19, 2020 - 7:30pm

Free, family friendly performance by Balinese shadow master Gusti Sudarta, accompanied by live gamelan music by Raga Kusuma. This performance recounts the tale of prince Sutasoma, a 14th century Javanese epic teaching the lessons of religious tolerance.

Friday, March 13, 2020 - 7:00pm

Short traditional shadow theater with Gusti Sudarta, and set of collaborative keroncong and crankies with Rumput and Gusti Sudarta.
2 Shows! 7:00 and 9:00

Thursday, September 19, 2019 - 6:00pm

Join GRK for a relaxing evening in a sonorous garden. Part of the Garden's Toro Nagashi Commemorative Festival. 6-9 pm.

Saturday, June 29, 2019 - 5:00pm

5:00-6:30 Family Friendly performance of Javanese and Balinese traditional gamelan music. Complimentary Javanese snacks and coffee. Audience is invited to try the instruments afterward.
6:30-7:30 Grab dinner at the food truck parked out front or at your fav Scott's Addition restaurant/brewery. (Remember, Don't Look Back is right next door; and Courthouse Creek is in the back. . . )
Come back for Rumput at. . . .
7:30-8:30 Rumput String-band and Shadow Theater.
Suggested donation: $10 for Rumput or GRK, $15 for both. No one turned away for lack of funds.

Thursday, May 9, 2019 - 12:30pm

GRK plays a set of Javanese music for VCU's celebration of Pacific Asian American Heritage Month.

Sunday, April 28, 2019 - 6:00pm

GRK presents a concert of traditional Balinese and Javanese music at the Sabot School. https://www.sabotatstonypoint.org/explore/concerts-in-the-garden/

Monday, March 11, 2019 - 11:30am

Members of GRK present a workshop on Balinese shadow theater and gender wayang music.

Sunday, February 3, 2019 - 3:00pm

Join GRK and Gusti Sudarta for FREE, open workshops in traditional Balinese gamelan music and dance. No previous experience necessary, all-ages. Gusti Sudarta will run an introductory dance workshop in the North Court Choir Room while Andy McGraw and members of Gamelan Raga Kusuma run an introductory gamelan workshop in the Global Music Studio below.

Sunday, January 27, 2019 - 7:00pm

Join GRK for an evening of traditional Balinese and Javanese gamelan, featuring Balinese Mask Dancer Gusti Sudarta.

Saturday, January 26, 2019 - 7:30pm

Balinese Shadow Master Gusti Sudarta presents the traditional shadow play Candrabirawa, an ancient Balinese tale of religious tolerance. Accompanied with live gamelan music by members of GRK. After the show the audience will be invited on stage to try making shadows of their own. FREE and open to the public. Part of the Music Department's Beyond Exoticism series.

Friday, January 25, 2019 - 3:00pm

A rare screening of Lotte Rieniger's 1926 shadow-film The Adventures of Prince Achmed, with talk-back session featuring Balinese Shadow Master Gusti Sudarta. Free and Open to the Public.

Thursday, January 24, 2019 - 6:00pm

GRK and Balinese Master Musician Gusti Sudarta join the Richmond Symphony Orchestra with a short set of traditional Balinese music and Evan Ziporyn's Ngaben for gamelan and orchestra.

Wednesday, January 23, 2019 - 7:30pm

GRK is honored to join the stage with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, led by Javanese master musicians Sumarsam and Darsono. We will perform Sumarsam's reconstruction of the gamelan works Debussy heard at the Paris Exposition in 1899. Also on the program: Ziporyn's Ngaben for Balinese gamelan and Symphony Orchestra, Dewa Ketut Alit's Open My Door. Balinese Shadow Master Gusti Sudarta will present a new shadow play, accompanied by Debussy's Le Boîte a Joujoux. Part of the Music Department's Beyond Exoticism Series.

Sunday, December 2, 2018 - 3:00pm

Free, Family friendly world music concert featuring River City Taiko, Gamelan Raga Kusuma, Ezibu Muntu drummers, Brazilian music. North Court. Free parking in Modlin lot or along Westhampton way.

Wednesday, October 31, 2018 - 7:00pm

GRK plays traditional processional gamelan, often used in Balinese DEATH CEREMONIES!, as part of the Oregon Hill Halloween Parade organized by All the Saints Theater Company.

Saturday, May 5, 2018 - 7:30pm

Join GRK and Rumput for a short concert of Keroncong and Balinese and Javanese gamelan followed by a traditional Indonesian "klenengan" late-night jam session. Interested attendees are welcome to participate in the jam. Everyone is welcome to traditional Javanese coffee, tea and snacks. This will be our last event with visiting Javanese master musician Danis Sugiyanto. $5 Recommended Donation. Doors 7:00. Concert 7:30-8:30. Klenengan 9:00-. Parking is easy and free. Park along Westhampton way (W34) or in the nearby lot (W35). See maps.richmond.edu for directions.

Sunday, April 15, 2018 - 12:00pm

Led by Javanese master-musician Danis Sugiyanto, Gamelan Raga Kusuma will perform traditional Balinese and Javanese repertoire in two locations at the Lewis Ginter botanical garden. Follow the sounds of gongs to find us. 12:00 and 2:00 sets.

Friday, February 9, 2018 - 8:00pm

Gamelan Raga Kusuma performs with Rumput, directed by Javanese master musician Danis Sugiyanto.

Tuesday, October 24, 2017 - 7:00pm

GRK accompanies Balinese Master Artist Gusti Sudarta in a performance of Mask Dance and Shadow Theater. $5. Kid Friendly. Audience will be invited to cast shadows of their own after the show.

Sunday, October 15, 2017 - 11:30am

Gamelan Raga Kusuma accompanied Balinese master artist Gusti Sudarta as part of the Smithsonian Institute's IlluminAsia Festival. http://www.asia.si.edu/events/performances.asp#/?i=1

Saturday, October 14, 2017 - 9:30pm

Gamelan Raga Kusuma accompanies Balinese master artist Gusti Sudarta in a performance of traditional wayang kulit shadow theater. http://www.asia.si.edu/events/performances.asp#/?i=1

Friday, June 16, 2017 - 7:00pm

GRK and Rumput present an evening of traditional and contemporary Indonesian gamelan and dance and string-band music. $5 tickets available at the theater or online at: henricolive.com

Sunday, April 23, 2017 - 3:00pm

Do you have what it takes to be a gamelan nerd? Join GRK for a free, family friendly open gamelan workshop. Global Music Studio, University of Richmond. North Court. 40 Westhampton Way 23173. The studio is on the ground level opposite the tennis courts on Westhampton Way. Park along Westhampton Way in areas W34 or in lot W35. see maps.richmond.edu

Sunday, April 2, 2017 - 3:00pm

Join GRK for a free, family-friendly afternoon of Indonesian, Brazilian, Japanese, West African and Indian music and dance.

Sunday, March 19, 2017 - 8:00pm

GRK + Rumput are joined by master musicians and dancers from the Indonesian Embassy to present an evening of Balinese and Javanese music, dance and shadow theater. Tickets available beginning 2/26/17 via:http://www.showclix.com/ The GST performance will be immediately followed by an Indo-Noise-ia performance across the street at Strange Matter: 9:30-11:00 featuring Beleganjur, Feminacci, Azitrax and Tavishi. 9:30-11:00. $7 benefit for Planned Parenthood.

Sunday, January 15, 2017 - 3:00pm

Join GRK and Rumput at www.hardywood.com for an afternoon of Indonesian music, dance, shadow theater and beer.

Sunday, November 20, 2016 - 3:00pm

Join GRK for a free, family-friendly performance of Indonesian, Brazilian, West-African, Japanese and Indian music and dance.

Sunday, October 16, 2016 - 8:00pm

Join GRK @ www.balliceauxrva.com for great food, music and dance.

Friday, October 7, 2016 - 8:00pm to Sunday, October 9, 2016 - 8:00pm

GRK is honored to host the Balinese All Stars, an amazing collective of some of Bali's top musicians, composers and dancers, as they perform in the Richmond Folk Festival, on GRK's gamelan. See the Festival's Performance Schedule at: www.richmondfolkfestival.org

Thursday, September 22, 2016 - 8:00pm

Gamelan Raga Kusuma joins New York's Momenta String Quartet and Indonesia's leading experimental singer Ubiet Raseuki for an evening of contemporary music by Indonesian composers: featuring I Wayan Yudane's and Jack Body's "House in Bali" and Tony Prabowo's "Pastoral."

Sunday, July 31, 2016 - 3:00pm

Join Gamelan Raga Kusuma, dancers from the Indonesian Embassy and Rumput for a family-friendly afternoon of Indonesian gamelan, string-band music and shadow theater at Hardywood Brewery.

Sunday, April 17, 2016 - 3:00pm

GRK is joined by master Indonesian artists Gusti Sudarta, Danis Sugiyanto and Peni Candrarini for a family-friendly performance of Balinese, Javanese, Indian, Brazilian, African and Japanese music and dance.

Sunday, April 17, 2016 - 3:00pm

Join Gamelan Raga Kusuma for the spring 2016 Global Sounds concert at the University of Richmond featuring Balinese and Javanese guest artists and performances of Brazilian, Japanese, Indian and African music and dance. Free and Family Friendly!

Saturday, April 16, 2016 - 3:00pm

Members of GRK join Indonesian master artists Gusti Sudarta, Danis Sugiyanto, Peni Candrarini and Appalachian stars Elizabeth LaPrelle and Anna Roberts-Gevalt for an innovative musical and theater performance combining Indonesian kroncong and old-time music and theater. (tickets available @ modlin.richmond.edu)

Wednesday, April 13, 2016 - 8:00pm

Members of Gamelan Raga Kusuma and Indonesian guest artists Danis Sugiyanto, Peni Candrarini and Gusti Sudarta join Richmond's most interesting musicians for a Cageian MUSICIRCUS following a performance by Eighth Blackbird and Matt Ullery.

Sunday, March 20, 2016 - 3:00pm

Free and Family Friendly!

Sunday, March 13, 2016 - 8:00pm

GRK is joined by master Balinese artist Gusti Sudarta for an evening of traditional Balinese music and dance.

Sunday, February 28, 2016 - 3:00pm
Monday, June 15, 2015 - 7:00pm

Members of GRK with:
stephen vitiello
brian jones/lance koehler
JC kuhl/john winn
taylor barnett

Friday, June 12, 2015 - 6:00pm

Members of GRK perform gender wayang at the Neighborhood Resource Center of Greater Fulton.

Thursday, May 28, 2015 - 7:00pm

Gamelan Raga Kusuma presents an evening of traditional Balinese gamelan and Indonesian kroncong for an Asian-themed reception for Commonwealth Oral Surgeons.

Sunday, May 17, 2015 - 10:45am

Gamelan Raga Kusuma and Banjar Bali present an afternoon of traditional Indonesian music, dance, poetry and ritual at the Indonesian Ambassador's residence in Washington DC.

Sunday, April 26, 2015 - 8:00am

Raga Kusuma accompanies projections of Gusti Sudarta's fight scenes from the Balinese shadow play as part of a multi-band show featuring Among the and Rocks and Roots.

Sunday, April 12, 2015 - 3:00am

Join Gamelan Raga Kusuma for UR's spring Global Sounds concert. A free, family-friendly concert featuring music and dance of Bali, Japan, West Africa, India and Brazil.

Friday, March 6, 2015 - 5:30pm

Join members of Gamelan Raga Kusuma as they perform repertoire for the sacred gender wayang ensemble. Start the First Friday Party early with us! Other entertainment includes the Wes-Anderson-Awesomeness of the Ghandarva Music School: Kids Banging out Bollywood Jams!

Sunday, January 11, 2015 - 3:00pm

Join Gamelan Raga Kusuma for a free, kid-friendly workshop of the famous Balinese "Monkey Chant."

Sunday, January 11, 2015 - 3:00pm

Join Balinese master artist Gusti Sudarta for a free workshop on the ancient Balinese Kecak Monkey Chant.

Saturday, January 10, 2015 - 8:00pm

Members of Gamelan Raga Kusuma perform Balinese Shadow Play with Balinese Master Artist Gusti Sudarta

Thursday, January 8, 2015 - 8:00pm

Members of Gamelan Raga Kusuma perform Balinese shadow play with Master Artist Gusti Sudarta. Balliceaux

Wednesday, January 7, 2015 - 8:00pm

An evening of Balinese mask dancing and shadow play recounting the reincarnation of the Buddha as Sutasoma, a prince who renounces his worldly wealth for a life of contemplation. The performance will open with an experimental collaboration between Sudarta and the renowned experimentalist Shahzad Ismaily. The shadow play will be accompanied by live gamelan music and the audience will be invited to try their hand at both the gamelan and the shadow puppets following the performance.

Monday, December 29, 2014 - 8:00pm

Members of Gamelan Raga Kusuma perform Balinese dance and shadow play with master artist Gusti Sudarta for a series of performances at Kampong Garden in Miami. Evening performances will take place on December 28, 29 and January 2, 3, 4 in addition to day-time workshops in music, dance and instrument making. More information coming soon @ http://ntbg.org/gardens/kampong.php

Friday, December 5, 2014 - 6:00pm

GRK performs with Balinese Dancers from DC for First Friday's at the VMFA.

Sunday, November 23, 2014 - 3:00pm

Gamelan Raga Kusuma joins with UR taiko, bossa, samba, and djembe ensembles for a family friendly, free concert in the Tyler Haynes Commons.

Gamelan Raga Kusuma performing at the University of Richmond
Saturday, April 19, 2014 - 3:00pm

Join the University of Richmond in celebrating traditional music and dance from around the world. This free, family-friendly concert features Japanese, Indonesian, West African, Indian, and Brazilian music and dance performances by local and visiting music ensembles. Audiences will be given an opportunity after the concert to see and interact with the instruments, including the gamelan and drums.

Gamelan Raga Kusuma at Balliceaux, 2014-04-10.
Thursday, April 10, 2014 - 8:00pm

Balinese gamelan performance with dancers from the Indonesian Embassy

Download poster [jpeg]

Gamelan instrument, jublag
Sunday, April 6, 2014 - 3:00pm
A John Cage Musicircus, University of Richmond
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 - 8:30pm

Following the Eighth Blackbird Concert will be a John Cage Musicircus staged throughout Booker Hall of Music. A small ensemble from Gamelan Raga Kusuma will perform Gender Wayang and/or experimental pieces.

Friday, March 14, 2014 - 5:00pm
Wednesday, March 12, 2014 - 8:00pm

Live music to accompany two projections: a Balinese wayang (shadow puppet) performance by Gusti Sudarta and Tony Conrad's Flicker.

Download poster [pdf]

Sunday, December 1, 2013 - 3:00pm to 5:00pm

Raga Kusuma has a limited number of open spots for new members. Interested in joining? Anyone can do it! (see picture). Participation is free. At this session we will discuss our upcoming plans, including a tour to Bali.

Share the Facebook event!

Saturday, November 9, 2013 - 3:00pm to 5:00pm

Gusti Sudarta, faculty, Indonesian National Conservatory, will lead this free workshop.

RSVP: ragakusuma@gmail.com

Thursday, October 31, 2013 - 6:00pm to Sunday, November 3, 2013 - 8:30pm

Gamelan musicians, dancers, and scholars from around the world will convene at the Smithsonian's Freer and Sackler galleries to celebrate, discuss, and perform Indonesian music, dance and theater.

Gamelan Raga Kusuma will perform during 2 afternoon slots on Saturday November 2.

View final program [PDF, 3.4MB]

Agua Dulce Dance Theater, still from "algún día...."
Friday, October 25, 2013 - 7:30pm

passing through, a new work based on the human experience of change relative to five elemental stages of life, is a collaboration among Richmond- and New York City-based artists in music, video, and dance. Gamelan Raga Kusuma will be represented by a special sub-group focusing on experimental compositions and extended techniques.

Part of the eighth blackbird Fall 2013 concert.

Gamelan Raga Kusuma performing at the Fat Cat in NYC.  Photo by Ron Karnes.
Sunday, February 10, 2013 - 3:00am