Suwitra Jaya Gamelan & Sydney Guitar Collective: East-West Resonance:

Suwitra Jaya perform with the UNSW Gamelan ensemble and the Sydney Guitar Collective.

In a groundbreaking fusion of Spanish guitar and Balinese gamelan, East-West Resonance celebrates an ongoing sonic dialogue between diverse musical cultures.

The virtuosic Sydney Guitar Collective will join forces with Suwitra Jaya Gamelan for this world-first collaboration, showcasing Western compositions inspired by 'the East', right alongside Eastern compositions inspired by 'the West'.

Guitar strings meet suspended gongs in this extraordinary concert, where the intricate interlocking patterns (kotekan) of Balinese gamelan interweave with the harmonic complexity of classical guitar. The performance features the works of superstar international guitarists William Kanengiser (USA) and I Wayan Balawan (Indonesia), a new work by emerging Sydney composer Eitan Muir, and the music of Balinese master composer I Gusti Ngurah Adi Putra (Indonesia), reimagined for guitars and gamelan in new arrangements.

Co-produced by Dr Janet Agostino (Artistic Director, Sydney Guitar Collective), Dr Manolete Mora (Director, Suwitra Jaya Gamelan) and Tobias Dracoulis, East-West Resonance pays homage to the tradition of cross-cultural musical dialogue, and we are invited to reflect: How do these cross-cultural compositions deepen our understanding of each other's musical heritage, and what new possibilities for artistic expression might emerge from this ongoing dialogue?

PROGRAM:

Phillip Glass (arr. Tobias Dracoulis) - Opening from Glassworks (1981)

William Kanengiser - Gongan (1997)

I Wayan Balawan - What's in Bali Today? (What's Left in Bali?)

Eitan Muir - Ngubeng (2025) *World Premiere

Commissioned by Sydney Guitar Collective

I Gusti Ngurah Adi Putra

Sumpah (arr. Manolete Mora)

Kaja-kaja (arr. Tobias Dracoulis)

Melasti (arr. Tobias Dracoulis)