MIDIYANTO: JP/Moch. N. Kurniawan

Hundreds of music enthusiasts flocked the concert hall at the University of California, Berkeley to listen to a Javanese gamelan concert last month co-directed by Midiyanto and Ben Brinner.

Entranced by the performance of three gendhing (musical pieces), the audience gave a standing ovation to the group at the end of the show.

The concert was particularly exceptional as none of the musicians re-creating the traditional music -- except Midiyanto -- are actually Indonesian.

Following the show, Midiyanto told The Jakarta Post that the Javanese gamelan show, performed regularly at UC Berkeley, always drew a big audience.

He said in November or December, the show would deviate from its usual midday slot to an evening soiree performance.

"Gamelan is often appreciated greater in countries like the United States, and in other parts of the world, than it is back home," said Midiyanto, the 48-year-old UC Berkeley gamelan lecturer and Javanese wayang (shadow puppet) master from Wonogiri, Central Java.

"So it's our duty to ensure that gamelan is played properly and that the audience enjoy the gendhing," he said.

In his gamelan classes, Midiyanto ensures the rhythmic aspects of the music are accurate and indicative of tradition, and praises students who successfully re-create the sound.

"To play an instrument without the correct rhythm... is like using the English language without grammar," he told his students.

From 1988 to 1991, Midiyanto taught gamelan classes at UC Berkeley, and after a hiatus returned to teaching in 2004. He now has now five classes with 25 students in each session.

Between 1991 and 2004, Midiyanto also shared his Javanese gamelan skills with students from other institutions, such as Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon where he earned his master's degree, and the Indonesian Embassy in Washington D.C.

However, his background in teaching Javanese gamelan spreads far and wide.

For two years in the early 1980s, Midiyanto taught gamelan at the Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, and in 1985 became an assistant lecturer at the Indonesian Art Institute (ISI), Solo. Here, he earned his undergraduate degree in gamelan.

His connection with the U.S. began in 1986 with an artist exchange program, and ended up with him spending most of his life and career in the country.

"One good thing about teaching at UC Berkeley is that students must perform publicly at the end of semester, which is good for their motivation. It encourages them to learn their instruments properly," he said.

"In Indonesia, I struggle to find students willing to play for the public."

Midiyanto said he was surprised at the pace at which his students absorbed gamelan skills, considering in Indonesia the technique can take years to teach.

He said he had helped five students in the U.S. gain their doctorate degrees in gamelan studies.

Besides teaching, Midiyanto also stages public performances outside Berkeley, and is often invited by other institutions to hold concerts several times a year.

Last year he performed at the William and Mary College Virginia, the University of North Carolina, Yale University and the Republic of Polytech, Singapore.

He has also staged wayang shows by invitation at the Sacramento State University and the University of Chicago.

Midiyanto learned his wayang skills in Solo at the Performing Arts Senior High School in late 1970s.

He continued to learn from senior wayang performers, including his father Ki Sutino Hardoko Carito, and Ki Anom Suroto and Ki Narto Sabdo, while studying gamelan at ISI.

Ninik Lunde, an Indonesian language lecturer at UC Berkeley and regular Javanese dancer at the concerts, praised Midiyanto for his broad talents.

"He has a good name as a gamelan lecture and player, as well as a wayang performer," she said.

"Last year, for example, his wayang performance drew a great number of people here as the English translation was provided."

Midiyanto established a gamelan foundation in 2000 in his home town, Wonogiri, and financed the education of 50 students between five and 15 years of age.

"I am quite old now, so I might not come back to teach at universities in Indonesia. I will focus on teaching and performing at an international level, and develop my gamelan foundation, which teaches 50 adopted students for free," he said.

He has hired two teachers from ISI to run his foundation.

"I want the children in my foundation to learn to be more respectful of their teachers," he said. "It's a way of re-enforcing Javanese culture for the children and I am happy they take part in it."

Midiyanto said the students, including his own sons, could be the next generation to continue promoting Javanese gamelan to the world.

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