Nusantara Arts

“To invite our community to an expansive experience in music and art, sparking dialogue about inclusion and cooperation.”

Gamelan music from the island of Java in Indonesia is one of the oldest continuously played musical art forms in the world. It grew out of the bronze age and has remained popular as both a community and royal tradition on the island of Java for the last 1800 years. Gamelan music is a community art that can work only with cooperation, listening, empathy, and learning. It teaches patience, listening skills, and music philosophy, challenging players to change their perspectives on what music can be. In gamelan we create beautiful music together, with each player adding pieces to the whole.  In Buffalo we have created this new community and are watching it flourish.

Nusantara is an old Javanese word that refers to the vast archipelago that is now called Indonesia. We see Buffalo as our own archipelago of different cultures and art.  An archipelago we should not be afr