Gamelan Gita Lestari (NTU Graduate Institute of Musicology)

Art Center · Taipei, Taiwan

About Gamelan Gita Lestari (NTU Graduate Institute of Musicology)

Taiwan's only full set of gamelan gong kebyar instruments, the explosive, fast-tempo style of Balinese gamelan associated with virtuosic unison playing, belongs to Gamelan Gita Lestari, an ensemble founded in 2018 at National Taiwan University's Graduate Institute of Musicology. The group was established by Distinguished Professor Ying-fen Wang of the Institute and has been mentored since its founding by I Nyoman Windha, an internationally recognized Balinese composer, a relationship that has kept the ensemble's playing style and repertoire closely tied to contemporary Balinese practice rather than a purely academic reconstruction of the tradition.

Membership draws from faculty, current students, and alumni of both National Taiwan University and the neighboring National Taiwan Normal University, and the group's own description of itself emphasizes its mix of nationalities, with musicians from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, and Malaysia all playing together. This international makeup complements four other Taiwanese universities that maintain gamelan angklung ensembles, a smaller and differently tuned style of Javanese gamelan, leaving Gita Lestari's gong kebyar set as a distinct and singular instrument collection within Taiwan's university music scene.

The ensemble is active in performance rather than functioning as a walk-in cultural venue. In October 2025 it made its international debut at the Misato Bali Festival in Misato-cho, Shimane Prefecture, Japan, preceded by a pre-tour concert at the NTU University Players Theater on the university's own campus. Performances organized by the College of Liberal Arts and the Graduate Institute of Musicology are typically free to attend and have included guest artists and dancers alongside the ensemble itself. Because Gita Lestari operates as a university-affiliated academic ensemble rather than a standalone cultural center with posted public hours, no opening hours or dedicated phone line specific to the group could be confirmed; general enquiries can be directed to the Graduate Institute of Musicology at No. 1, Section 4, Roosevelt Road, Da'an District, Taipei 10617, via its website at gim.ntu.edu.tw, or by calling the university's main line.

Address

Contact

• Phone: +886-2-3366-2577
• Website: https://gim.ntu.edu.tw/home.jsp?lang=en

Category

Indonesian Art Center in Taiwan

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