Midiyanto has performed in Indonesia, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore as a musician and shadow master (dhalang) over the past twenty years. Born in Wonogiri, a rural district in the southern part of Central Java, he studied at the High School of the Arts (SMKI) and the Academy of Indonesian Arts (STSI) in Surakarta before going abroad to teach and perform. In addition to UC Berkeley he has also taught at Lewis and Clark College, where he earned an MA.
Ben Brinner is an associate professor in the Department of Music at UC Berkeley. He studied gamelan at UC Berkeley under KRT Wasitodiningrat and in Central Java from teachers including IM Harjito and the late R.Ng. Martopangrawit. He is the author of Knowing Music, Making Music: Javanese Gamelan and the Theory of Musical Competence and Interaction (University of Chicago, 1995).
Gamelan Sari Raras is an ensemble dedicated to the performance of Javanese gamelan music. Associated with the Department of Music at the University of California, Berkeley, Sari Raras was founded in 1988 by Midiyanto and Ben Brinner. The ensemble includes current and former Berkeley students as well as community members, several of whom have studied and performed in Java.
