For over 23 years, the sounds of spring in the Holton-Arms Lower School have included the distinctive timbre of Balinese gamelan instruments. This global component of the music program came about as a result of sabbatical study in Bali by former Lower School music teacher Gerri Wilson. She passed on her knowledge about the music and culture to colleagues who came after her, to the benefit of hundreds of students over the years. Fifth grade students learn to play gamelan pieces on xylophones, but the fun really begins when our friend Nyoman Suadin, founder and artistic director of the local gamelan Mitra Kusuma, brings authentic instruments for the girls to play. Students find the sounds enticing and even mesmerizing, and they love to work to master the complicated interlocking rhythms and new playing techniques that Nyoman challenges them to learn.
