Spring 2022 New Lenox Library Guide
Javanese Gamelan Adults & Teens Monday, May 23, 6–7 pm Zoom Celebrate Asian & Pacific Islander Heritage Month with the Library and Chicago’s own Friends of the Gamelan, affectionately known as FROG. Join Artistic Director, Alex Yoffe as he explains the instruments and cultural context of Gamelan—the traditional music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia. The evening will conclude with a pre-recorded traditional piece from the full ensemble! Come enjoy a night of music and culture with us. Registration starts April 23. A recording of this program will be made available on YouTube.
New Lenox Public Library
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Friends of the Gamelan, affectionately known as FROG, traces its roots to the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, held in Chicago. One of the many exotic attractions on the Midway Plaisance was the Java Village, complete with a Sundanese gamelan. Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History was founded to preserve, catalog, and exhibit the many cultural treasures from the Exposition, including the gamelan. In the late 1970s, a group began to meet regularly at the Field Museum to play on those very instruments. FROG was formed in 1980 as a notfor-profit educational organization with the purpose of purchasing a Javanese gamelan for pedagogy and performance, to continue the work begun at the Field Museum. Alex Yoffe is a Javanese gamelan musician and teacher. After completing his degree in music composition at the CCPA, he went on to the concentrated study of Central Javanese gamelan, having been awarded a scholarship—fully funded by the Indonesian government— at the Indonesian Institute of the Arts in Surakarta (ISI Surakarta). Yoffe has performed with and taught many gamelans across the US, including Gamelan Laras Tentrem (Boston), Gamelan Kusuma Laras (NYC), Gamelan Sari Raras Irama (Buffalo, NY), as well as at numerous universities and colleges. He has also performed with many groups and renowned musicians in Java, Indonesia. 120 Veterans Parkway, New Lenox, Illinois 60451
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815-485-2605
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newlenoxlibrary.org
