Soloevent.id – 2018 International Gamelan Festival (IGF) will soon be held. On Friday (08/03/2018), the committee held a press conference at Solo City Hall about the IGF 2018 implementation plan.

International Gamelan Festival 2018 curator, Joko S. Gombloh, said that the grand event will show various types of gamelan, both traditional and modern. “IGF combines court, non-palace, contemporary gamelan, to the latest gamelan. Royal gamelan and another gamelan groups held in several venues, he explained.

He invited groups that play gamelan with the nuances of the present is an attempt to convey a variety of new gamelan cultures. They are people who have a strong tradition of gamelan, but also understand what the renewal looks like.

Until this news was revealed, the igfsolo.com website contained 47 gamelan groups from various regions in Indonesia and 19 gamelan groups from abroad who would perform on the stage of the International Gamelan Festival, 9-16 August 2018.

The groups included Peni Candrarini (Solo), Kua Etnika (Yogyakarta), Sambasunda (Bandung), Gamelan Salukat-Dewa Alit (Bali), Siswa Sukro (English), Wesleyan Gamelan Ensemble (United States), Gamelan Lambangsari Group ( Japan), National Concert Hall Gamelan of Ireland (Ireland).

They will perform at several points in the city of Solo, such as Benteng Vastenburg, Bentara Budaya Balai Soedjatmoko, Teater Besar Indonesian Institute of Arts Surakarta, Central Java Cultural Park, and others.

The 2018 International Gamelan Festival will be opened at Vastenburg Fortress on Thursday (08/09/2018), at 19.00 WIB. The opening ceremony entitled Opening Concert “Homecoming” will be enlivened by three composers: Rahayu Supanggah (Solo), I Wayan Gde Yudane (Bali), and Taufik Adam (Jakarta), as well as the gamelan group Southbank Gamelan Players (UK) and Kua Etnika.