Flowing Waters is a unique hands-on introduction to the music and culture of Java, for Orff-Schulwerk Ensembles. It includes everything you need to add the wonderfully rich sound of the gamelan to your school, using the Orff instrumentarium. Students learn not only to appreciate, but to understand the unique and very beautiful sound of the gamelan through hands-on experience. Seeing the instruments through the eyes of a master Javanese musician, students are led into a respect for the gamelan and the revered place it has in the lives of the Javanese people.

The 35-minute video first introduces your group to Java and the instruments of the gamelan, demonstrated by FX Widaryanto, then shows you clearly and methodically how to teach "Ritjik-Ritjik" to your students, guided by master teacher Lillian Holtfreter. The 24-page manual is an easy-to-use guide that supplements the video with detailed lesson plans, cultural background, and other information.

The 35-minute Color Video includes:

• Sounds and Scenes of Indonesia
• An in-depth introduction to the instruments of the Javanese Gamelan - the "village orchestras" with Javanese dancer, musician and teacher FX Widaryanto
• A step-by-step approach to the structure and performance of the the piece "Ritjik-Ritjik" (Flowing Waters) demonstrated in a classroom setting by Lillian Holtfreter and an upper elementary student ensemble
• A student demonstration of "Ritjik-Ritjik" on the gamelan at the University of Michigan

The 8 1/2 x 11 Manual includes:

• The video narration plus extra information on the music and instruments of Indonesia
• Copy-OK Map of Indonesia
• Copy-OK illustrated chart of gamelan instruments
• Copy-OK Scores for "Ritjik-Ritjik" and "Udan Mas" (Golden Rain - a more challenging piece)
• How to simulate gamelan instruments using the Orff instrumentarium
• Detailed lesson plans for eight classroom sessions leading to a performance of "Ritjik-Ritjik" on classroom instruments
• Information on shadow puppets, including Copy-OK templates for making your own. Use them behind a lighted sheet as a backdrop for a concert performance of the included pieces
• Selected Resources List
• List of Gamelan Ensembles in the United States that welcome visits

About the Contributors

Franciscus Xaverium Widaryanto (BA Dance, College of Indonesian Arts, MA Performing Arts and Asian Studies, University of Urbana-Champaign) was born in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. He is widely known and respected as a dancer, performer, and scholar of Javanese musical traditions, including gamelan and dance. He has been a Visiting Artist and Lecturer at many universities in the United States, Japan, and Indonesia. FX Widaryanto has directed several gamelan ensembles, and has written numerous articles on Indonesian music and dance. A 1980 Fulbright Scholar, he has also choreographed and performed numerous works in the US, Japan and Indonesia.

Lillian Holtfreter (BA Music, Capital University (OH), MA Music and Teacher's Certificate, University of Michigan) is a multicultural music and dance consultant who has led many conference and in-service seminars and workshops throughout the United States. She has taken intensive courses in multicultural music education, with a particular emphasis on the music of Indonesia. From 1965-1989 she taught vocal music in the Ann Arbor MI public schools, and created multicultural programs for all elementary grades there. In 1992 she was the driving force behind the formation of the Michigan Music Education Multicultural Committee (in conjunction with the MMEA). She is an independent multicultural music and arts consultant in Ann Arbor, MI.