History of Suwitra Jaya Gamelan
The story of Suwitra Jaya Gamelan begins in May 2013, with the arrival of a newly-commissioned Balinese gamelan semar pegulingan instrument set at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. The first musicians in the group were undergraduate music students at the University of New South Wales, led by Associate Professor in Music, Dr Manolete Mora.
In 2014, with the support of the university and a New Colombo Plan grant, Dr Mora took a study group consisting of 20 students and a handful of local gamelan enthusiasts on a field trip to Sanggar Bona Alit (Bona Alit Art Centre) in Bona village, in the Gianyar regency of Bali, Indonesia. That first group had the opportunity to study for two weeks with ‘Alit’ I Gusti Ngurah Adi Putra and his gamelan musicians, and brought their experiences back to Australia.
Since that first fateful trip, Suwitra Jaya Gamelan has grown to include UNSW students, alumni and gamelan enthusiasts from all over Sydney.
In January 2024, Suwitra Jaya Gamelan registered as an incorporated community association, formalising the group’s commitment to the study and promotion of Balinese music and culture in Australia, and creating exciting new opportunities for collaboration with local and international artists and organisations.
Balinese Connections
Suwitra Jaya Gamelan perform on instruments that were commissioned by the UNSW School of Arts and Media in 2012. These instruments were modeled on the unique, diatonically-tuned semar pegulingan of Sanggar Bona Alit in Gianyar, Bali.
Since 2014, our members have travelled to Bali to study traditional and contemporary gamelan music, bringing back their experience to share with Australia. We maintain close ties with the Sanggar, which was established by Alit Adi Putra and his wife Agung Rai in 1996. The name Suwitra Jaya was given to us by Alit Adi Putra, translating to ‘Noble Friendship’.
The instruments were retuned in March 2026.
Our Achievements
Suwitra Jaya performed at the Bali Arts Festival (PKB) in 2015, multiple temple ceremonies and at the Australian Consulate-General in Bali.
In Australia, the group’s performance highlights include: UNSW Indonesian Night Markets 2026, in collaboration with Arada Bali Entertainment dancers Ni Kadek Ayu Linda Gayatri and Kadek Ambarajaya Kaswara; Festival of the Winds 2025, with Talaandig musician Waway Saway (Philippines); National Multicultural Festival 2023, with dancer Sisca Haskew and tabla player Maharshi Raval; Malaysia Festival 2022; Festival of the Winds 2022.
Suwitra Jaya Gamelan 