Summary: Experience the shimmering brilliance of a Balinese gamelan orchestra and see images of the dramatic dances from the island's Hindu-Balinese traditions as the Washington, D.C., area's own Gamelan Mitra Kusuma (Flowering Friendship) performs a program of classical and contemporary repertoire. Three guest artists join gamelan director I Nyoman Suadin, who studied at Bali's Conservatory of the Performing Arts and currently teaches at the University of Maryland, Swarthmore College, and the Eastman School of Music. This performance took place in the Freer Gallery's Meyer Auditorium on December 4, 2008. It was made possible, in part, through support from the ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the United States, His Excellency Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat, and through the cooperation of the Asian Cultural History Program of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. See images, program notes and related artwork at http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts
