The U-M Gamelan Ensemble

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infinite-seeming cycles. Every Westerner should hear some of it at least once, for a certain number will become instantly hooked.

The U-M has its own gamelan, something that few other institutions away from the West Coast can claim; its marvelously evocative name is Kyai Telaga Madu, or "The Venerable Lake of Honey," and it was founded here in 1964. The gamelan attracts enthusiastic student players, and when they join forces with the local Indonesian community and with visiting artists from Indonesia, the results are some of the most elaborate artistic creations from a non-Western culture available in our town. Only rarely can Ann Arborites attend a Chinese opera, or a Japanese Noh drama, or even a concert by a master of one of the Arabic world's profound classical musical traditions. But the U-M Gamelan Ensemble mounts full-scale music and dance performances regularly, and the next one is coming up, free of charge, on Sunday, February 1, in newly vibrant Hill Auditorium.