Southern Exposure to conclude season with Gamelan Galak Tika concert and lectures

The University of South Carolina’s Southern Exposure New Music Series will conclude its 2007 - 08 season with a weekend of events featuring Gamelan Galak Tika, a Balinese percussion orchestra.

The Gamelan Galak Tika events are being held in conjunction with the university’s Asian Arts Week, March 24 - 29. The featured concert will be held at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 29.

“We’re thrilled that Southern Exposure is collaborating with Asian Arts Week, the Arts Institute, the Walker Institute and the Carolina Institute for Leadership and Engagement in Music to bring Gamelan Galak Tika to campus,” said John Fitz Rogers, Southern Exposure’s founder and artistic director. “This is truly a unique and wonderful opportunity.”

Evan Ziporyn, director of Gamelan Galak Tika, will give two public talks: 2 - 4:30 p.m. Friday, March 28 and 2:30p.m. Saturday, March 29. His second lecture, which will focus on Balinese music and dance, will feature two dancers.

All events will be held in the School of Music recital hall and are free and open to the public.

Based in Boston, Gamelan Galak Tika was formed in 1993. The percussion group performs traditional music and dance from the Indonesian island of Bali, as well as more contemporary works by Balinese and American composers. The term, “gamelan,” means “to hammer” and refers to the large percussion orchestras that are typical of Java and Bali. Gamelan Galak Tika has 22 members and has performed to critical acclaim in venues such as Lincoln Center and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

For more information about Gamelan Galak Tika visit http://www.galaktika.org/. For more information about Southern Exposure, contact Fitz Rogers at jrogers@mozart.sc.edu or 803-576-5753.