Indonesian Gamelan Stunned American Public at the Washington National Cathedral

Wednesday, January 23rd, Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Washington, D.C. in collaboration with PostClassical Ensemble and Washington National Cathedral presented “Cultural Fusion: The Gamelan Experience”, which was held in commemoration of 70 years of Indonesia and the United States bilateral relations as well as PostClassical’s Fifteenth Anniversary Season.
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The mega concert was attended by more than 500 audience of various backgrounds, including musical and cultural enthusiasts among others, who were mesmerized by the exotic yet contrasting Javanese and Balinese Gamelan music and dances performed by The Indonesian Embassy’s ensemble in such iconic venue of DC which is also widely deemed as the symbol of unity and diversity.
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This unique occasion also reiterated Gamelan’s long-standing and immense influence in the development of Western classical genre since the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris and beyond to European and then American composers including Debussy, Ravel, Poulenc, Messiaen, Bill Alves, Colin McPhee, and Lou Harrison.
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As Philip Bennett (former Managing Editor of The Washington Post) said PostClassical as “where culture and friendship meet most easily in DC”, this unprecedented collaboration has managed to showcase the long established cultural connections between Indonesia and the United States.
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Closing the concert was a light reception which includes servings of Indonesian specialty coffee and tea coupled with mixed-roots chips among others.
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For more information about Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, visit: www.embassyofindonesia.org, or follow @kbriwashdc on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

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