Dr. Charles Capwell is Professor of Music at the University of Illinois In the summer of 2000, 14 students and a faculty member from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign spent a month at Girikusuma for a period of deep immersion in the world of Balinese and Indonesian music after a semester's preparation at home learning Indonesian language and gamelan beleganjur. For several of the students, it was a first time experience abroad, while only one of the others had ever been to Asia, so they were both excited and a bit apprehensive about what to expect in Bali. As soon as they arrived in Payangan--and were greeted by a gamelan beleganjur ensemble that processed with them into the Girikusuma compound-their excitement and sense of expectation overcame any sense of wariness that remained and once settled into their rooms they immediately felt comfortable and secure enough to feel at home--even the occasional visit to their quarters by exotic wildlife like house lizards was accepted as a minor irritation and part of the learning experience rather than an alien threat. Girikusuma quickly became the kind of community for which the physical plant was designed, and we all became friends with the friendly and helpful staff, particularly the ever resourceful Wayan, and everyone's favorite, Meli, who kept us all well nourished and tastily satisfied with the output of her little kitchen. The sense of comradeship engendered by the layout of the place as well as the attitudes of Bob Brown and the staff enabled real work and study to begin immediately so that in the short space of a month, with the help of our own teacher and others provided by Bob, students had acquired a surprising amount of hands-on experience in several kinds of music making and were even able to present a small concert of music and dance to a banjar in Denpasar. Now that we've all been back for several months, I still hear from students about 'waves of nostalgia' for the experience in Bali and about how much more the music has come to mean to them than they realized while there. With the right group of people, the resources--physical and artistic--that Bob Brown has assembled and to which he has access in Girikusuma ensure an unparalleled experience in the very best sort of cultural tourism. A truly unforgettable place. Charles Capwell |
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Modified: February 12, 2002 |
