About

Our Story

Suwitra Jaya performs on instruments that were commissioned by the UNSW School of Arts and Media in 2012. These instruments belong to University of New South Wales and were modeled on the unique, diatonically-tuned semar pegulingan of Sanggar Bona Alit in Gianyar, Bali. We maintain close ties with the Sanggar (art centre), which was established by Alit Adi Putra and his wife Agung Rai in 1996. The name Suwitra Jaya (meaning Noble Friendship) was given to us by Alit Adi Putra.

Since 2014 our members have travelled to Bali to study traditional and contemporary gamelan music, and have brought their experiences back to Australia. Suwitra Jaya have previously performed in cultural festivals, temple ceremonies and the Australian Consulate-General in Bali. Recent performance highlights in Australia include an appearance at Malaysia Festival 2022 and an intercultural collaboration with Indonesian dancer Sisca Haskew and tabla player Maharshi Raval for the National Multicultural Festival 2023.

In January 2024, Suwitra Jaya became an incorporated community association, formalising our group’s commitment to the study and promotion of Balinese music and culture, and creating exciting new opportunities for collaboration.

Membership

Suwitra Jaya is a not-for-profit community association, and membership is required to participate in rehearsals and performances. Our membership is highly diverse, and anyone who is interested in learning Balinese music can become a member. All of our members contribute a small annual fee, and concession fees are made available to students and pensioners.

Rehearsals take place weekly on Tuesday evenings from 6:00pm-8:00pm at UNSW Sydney.

Our Committee

Dr Manolete Mora (Director)
Richard Lopes (Treasurer)
Eitan Muir (Secretary)
Michael Cindric
Olivia Halliday
Tobias Dracoulis
Phillipa van Helden