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span class="inline inline-left">JP/Ganug Nugroho AdiLife is always presented with choices. But ultimately, it follows what is close to one’s heart, gamelan music composer Dedek Wayudi told The Jakarta Post recently.

“And that is why I became a gamelan player,” said Dedek while in Surakarta.

The gamelan musician from Surakarta, in Central Java, acknowledged that 30 years earlier, he had been hesitant about choosing between a profession in gamelan music or a job as a paramedic.

“I wished [at that time] I could have done both jobs. I didn’t want to disappoint my father, but on the other hand I was fond of gamelan and wanted to be a professional player,” he recalled.

His father, Broto Sutrisno, was a paramedic in his village, Gantiwarno, Klaten, Central Java.

Little Dedek’s dad frequently took his son to remote areas where he treated the sick.

“One evening somebody asked my dad if he could come to his house as his child had a fever. His home was far away. But dad still set out by bike, braving the rain and the dark road,” he related.

So Dedek did once feel the pull to join the medical profession or at least be a paramedic like his father.

Moreover, his father didn’t want him to become an artist. Broto Sutrisno was indeed apprehensive his son would end up a classical Javanese musician or dancer like his other siblings.

Dedek was born into a family steeped in classical Javanese arts. His grandfather, Kiat Dihardjo, was a famous dalang (shadow puppet player) in Klaten.

His mother, Suratmi, was a dalang and noted sinden (female vocalist in a gamelan orchestra). His grandpa’s house was the community meeting spot, where gamelan was played, nembang (singing classical poetry) was sung, and where everyone came to discuss life in general.

“I’ve been very close to traditional arts since childhood. I used to accompany grandpa or mother on stage. Before attending primary school, I could play gamelan, chant suluk [poetry recited by dalang], and nembang,” said the man born in Klaten, on June 1, 1960.

After finishing junior high school in 1975, Dedek chose to fulfill his father’s wish and joined the paramedic school in Rangkas Bitung, Banten. But he quite within a year and later entered the Indonesian Classical Arts High School (SMKI) in Surakarta.

“Gamelan is closer to my heart. Though disappointed, my father understood. He gave me his full support eventually,” said the husband of dancer Hening Sukrowati.

In SMKI, his classical music talent grew. He not only became an adept kendang (two-ended drum) player, but also developed a gift for composing kerawitan (classical melodies) for the gamelan scores of dances.

Outside his formal training, he learned a lot from Marto Pangrawit (a kerawitan maestro from Surakarta Court), Rahayu Supanggah, Blacius Subono (both gamelan musicians) and Subanto (SMKI instructor).

“I also learned a great deal from collaborating with foreign musicians. Informal knowledge contributed considerably to my musical creations,” said the father of two.

His appearance in contemporary musical events led him to perform in various festivals and concerts abroad, especially following his overseas debut at the Royal Albert Hall, the UK, in 1984, along with the Sadupi (Indonesian Peace Envoy) Group.

“It was a very impressive show. I feel grateful to Pak Begug [Begug Poernomosidi, former regent of Wonogiri], who took us to the prestigious event,” said Dedek, who this February produced the music for dance-drama Memori Shinta (Shinta’s memories) at the Ramayana Festival in India, with choreographer Mugiono Kasido and sinden Yeny Arama.

His fresh and original pieces of music have made Dedek a partner much sought after by artists, not only musicians but also dalang, choreographers, poets, wayang orang (classical dance-drama theater), and ketoprak (history-themed drama). His compositions have graced the shows of such big names as Sardono W Kusumo, Mugiono, Rury Nostalgi, Dedy Luthan, Miroto, Slamet Gundono, and also Ong Keng Seng, a theater director from Singapore.

His work for Kisah Perjuangan Suku Naga , a play directed by (the late) great dramatist Rendra, was lauded by many circles and seen as an unforgettable composition.

However, his favorites are the gamelan numbers he presented in the gamelan opera Demonya si Tukang Bonang (The gamelan player’s demo), Surabaya Full Music Festival (2005), and the wayang drama Srikandi Senopati (2009).

“I call them the best because when I created them, I was able to experiment and explore music freely, which gave me a great deal of satisfaction,” said the man now living in Ngringo, Karanganyar.

Some of his musical pieces staged abroad included Search Hamlet (theater music, 2003) in Copenhagen, Denmark, Unity in Adversity (concert, 2006) in Los Angeles, USA, and Dewa Ruci (wayang music, 2009) in South Korea.

“In the past, traditional arts had to follow certain standards. Gamelan was thought of as music for old-age pensioners. Now everything has changed. My musical roots are traditional arts and I keep experimenting in order to avoid monotony,” explained Dedek, who now manages an art laboratory in the Indonesian Arts Institute (ISI), Surakarta.

The leader of Dedek Gamelan Orchestra has realized traditional music needs to evolve otherwise the community that appreciates it will abandon it.

“Traditional music is like an unrefined pearl. It has immeasurably high potential,” indicated the winner of The Best Composer award at the Indonesian Traditional Dance Festival.

Since 2008, Dedek has been intensely involved with the Drama Wayang Swargaloka group and its regular shows at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII), Jakarta.

This troupe combines the traditional wayang orang concept with modern drama. The new theater blends gamelan and modern musical instruments. Its dialogues are also in Indonesian instead of Javanese.

“It’s an alternative form of traditional wayang orang,” said the musician, who last year gave a gamelan workshop to participants of the Asia-Pacific Student Exchange Program.

Today Dedek is preparing a Gamelan Corobalen show for 36 hours, 36 minutes and 36 seconds in Jakarta. It will be the peak of the 36th anniversary celebration of TMII on April 19.

He will provide musical scores for the Bima Suci dance (Mugiono Kasido) and the colossal Wayang Nusantara dance-drama entitled Serat Nusaraya , collaborating with Antonius Rutamakin (animator), young dalang Nanang Hape and Bayu Aji Pamungkas (son of renowned dalang Ki Anom Suroto).

For Dedek, music is an agent of culture rather than a mere esthetic object.

Through gamelan, he learns how to appreciate others. “Gamelan constitutes a collective performance. To maintain harmony, gamelan players have to listen to each other.”