MISSION
To foster artistic exchanges between Java and the Portland community through residencies, workshops, and performances by studying and playing Javanese gamelan music and related art forms such as wayang shadow puppetry and dance; and to share the richness of this exchange with diverse audiences in the Northwest.
To foster artistic exchanges between Java and the Portland community through residencies, workshops, and performances by studying and playing Javanese gamelan music and related art forms such as wayang shadow puppetry and dance; and to share the richness of this exchange with diverse audiences in the Northwest.
COMMUNITY
THE VENERABLE SHOWERS OF BEAUTY (VSB) GAMELAN is a group of Lewis & Clark College students, alumni and community members, based in Portland, Oregon, specializing in the performing arts of Java. Founded in 1980, the VSB Gamelan has performed throughout the Northwest at hundreds of events.
DIRECTION
THE COMMUNITY ENSEMBLE is currently directed by Mindy Johnston. Mindy started studying Javanese gamelan in 1993 with Ki Midiyanto at Lewis & Clark College. Mindy was awarded the Dharmasiswa scholarship in 1998-99 and 2004-05 to study traditional Javanese music at Institut Seni Indonesia (ISI), the arts university in Solo, Java. From 2004-2007, she studied and performed gamelan music with some of the most renowned Javanese gamelan musicians alive at the time. In 2010, she received a Master’s degree in Conflict Resolution at Portland State University, with a focus on music and activism and works in the day at a local non-profit providing victim services and restorative justice practices to the community.
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A BRIEF HISTORY
THE VENERABLE SHOWER OF BEAUTY (VSB) Gamelan (known as Kyai Guntur Sari in Javanese) would not be in Portland without the dedication and vision of Vincent McDermott (Lewis & Clark faculty ethnomusicologist and composer from 1977-1997) and the generous support of Loraine C. Fenwick and Lewis & Clark president at the time, John Howard. In 1978, after months of searching in Java, McDermott and Fenwick, with the help of Pak Rahayu Supanggah, located and purchased this set of instruments, chosen for its historic nature, unusual configuration and rare beauty. The Venerable Showers of Beauty Gamelan originated in a village near Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia in approximately 1880. It was made for and used by a wealthy Chinese Indonesian family. Lewis and Clark College is particularly fortunate to have a gamelan of this quality and the community group is extremely proud to be able to learn and perform on these instruments. This gamelan is an example of one of the larger gamelans of Central Java, consisting of two sets of instruments, one tuned to the slendro |
scale, the other to pelog. It also contains a few unusual instruments including the demung renteng and the bonang panembung. This gamelan was the first of its kind in the Northwest and about the tenth to arrive in the United States. The gamelan was named by one of Java’s most famous and respected musicians and composers, K.R.T. Wasitodiningrat (usually known as Pak Cokro), who was a mentor for the group in its early years. Later, American composer Lou Harrison returned to his native Portland to work with the group several times, and so began a long legacy of new and traditional works being created and performed by the extensive community of music lovers who have played these instruments and contributed to the rich cultural fabric of life in Portland. From 1986 to 2002, the ensemble was led by the renowned Javanese musician, teacher and shadow puppet master Ki Midiyanto, a former Lewis & Clark faculty member. Pak Darsono “Vokal” was guest director with the group in 1990/91 and Pak Supardi joined the group in 1991/92. |
DEDICATION REMARKS FROM VSB'S INAUGURAL CONCERT
by Loraine Fenwick -- November 4, 1980
Three years ago, after 25 years of a professional career, I resigned to pursue unfocused but nevertheless strong personal interests. Knowing that I wanted to be involved with music, I came to Lewis & Clark’s School of Music. A series of events followed which included participation in a world music class taught by Dr. Vincent McDermott, a hearing of the University of California-Berkeley gamelan, and still other exposures to non-western and western music. As a result I began to focus my intentions and desires towards effecting a broad and major impact on music in a non-traditional way. Subsequently, I went to San Francisco State University in the summer of 1978, participating in classes regarding Javanese music, art and dance, with an emphasis on learning to play the gamelan. Later, I traveled to Java and Bali and heard these beautiful instruments.
The sound of the gamelan intrigued me most because of its brilliance and unusual tonal quality. After considerable thought and discussion with persons at Lewis & Clark, I realized that this would be a perfect complement to the commitment that Lewis & Clark has so strongly made to a long-standing tradition of international study programs, a non-western curriculum and world music courses. It is my hope that this gamelan will provide an additional impetus and resource for Lewis & Clark and the entire Northwest area to continue to develop an appreciation, love and understanding of diverse cultures.
Three years ago, after 25 years of a professional career, I resigned to pursue unfocused but nevertheless strong personal interests. Knowing that I wanted to be involved with music, I came to Lewis & Clark’s School of Music. A series of events followed which included participation in a world music class taught by Dr. Vincent McDermott, a hearing of the University of California-Berkeley gamelan, and still other exposures to non-western and western music. As a result I began to focus my intentions and desires towards effecting a broad and major impact on music in a non-traditional way. Subsequently, I went to San Francisco State University in the summer of 1978, participating in classes regarding Javanese music, art and dance, with an emphasis on learning to play the gamelan. Later, I traveled to Java and Bali and heard these beautiful instruments.
The sound of the gamelan intrigued me most because of its brilliance and unusual tonal quality. After considerable thought and discussion with persons at Lewis & Clark, I realized that this would be a perfect complement to the commitment that Lewis & Clark has so strongly made to a long-standing tradition of international study programs, a non-western curriculum and world music courses. It is my hope that this gamelan will provide an additional impetus and resource for Lewis & Clark and the entire Northwest area to continue to develop an appreciation, love and understanding of diverse cultures.
