What gamelan group played with Terry Riley?

August 6, 2008 9:08 AM

What gamelan group played before Terry Riley at a Santa Clara University performance in the late 70's?

I attended a concert at Santa Clara U between 1975 and 1980 where Terry Riley performed "Rainbow in Curved Air." There was a gamelan group that performed first, but I cannot remember who they were.

Who were they?

posted by gnossos to media & arts (5 comments total)

I'm coming up empty-handed so far, but this seems like a question that the Santa Clara University Archives can probably help you with.
posted by ryanshepard at 10:30 AM on August 6, 2008

Here's good contact info, with phone numbers, for many California gamelans. UC Santa Cruz has a gamelan, so they're a possibility.
posted by anadem at 11:23 AM on August 6, 2008

Do any of these sound familiar? All were gamelan groups performing on the west coast in the late 70s/early 80s:

Berkeley Gamelan
Gamela Pacifica
Gamelan Pasir Batang
Gamelan Si Betty
Mills College Gamelan Ensemble
Other Music
San Francisco Percussion Ensemble

Many of Lou Harrison's works incorporating gamelan were also performed in California around that time.
posted by ryanshepard at 11:37 AM on August 6, 2008

You could try asking on this mailing list.

http://danny.oz.au/gamelan/list.html
posted by conrad53 at 12:32 AM on August 7, 2008

Gamelan Si Betty! That's it! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
posted by gnossos at 7:28 AM on August 7, 2008