Gamelan Sulukala Concert

In a rare concert performance, your local Javanese orchestra Gamelan Sulukala will appear at Plainfield Opera House Saturday, September 27 at 3:00. Birthed in the late 1960’s by Dennis Murphy as a village gamelan made of hand-crafted instruments, and nurtured through the 2000s by Steven and Kathy Light with a set of court-style cast-bronze instruments, this orchestra has survived through multiple permutations, personnel changes and migrations to once again offer a program of traditional and contemporary pieces, including compositions by current and former members of the group.

Javanese Gamelan is an orchestra of about 30 instruments ranging from huge gongs to tiny flutes with lots of xylophone and kettle type instruments in between, plus drumming. Currently it is being played by a community group of 12 members who range in age from their 20's to their 70's with every decade in-between represented.

If you've never heard a Javanese gamelan, you…