Our current teacher is Budi Surasa Putra. Budi is a karawitan (performing arts) graduate of the Performing Arts Academy (STSI) in Solo. Since 1996 he has been in Wellington, directing gamelan performance at the university and at the Indonesian embassy.
Under Budi's guidance, the group has continued to develop its performing skills and repertoire. Current focuses include playing for festivals such as Asia 2000's Festival of Asia and other city-wide celebrations, puppet (wayang) performances, compositional series, and the enhancement of public spaces with beautiful sounds.
Midiyanto was our first Indonesian teacher of gamelan. From Wonogiri, Midiyanto is skilled as both a musician and dalang. Here in the mid eighties, he has since taught and performed in the United States and Australia, and currently performs all over the Asia-Pacific region.
Joko Sutrisno was our gamelan teacher from 1988 to 1995. During this time, the gamelan concentrated mainly on touring and festivals such as the Asia Pacific Festivals and the Sonic Circuses. There were regular tours of New Zealand which focused the group on one concert repertoire for some time before the tour. A speciality of Joko was the creation of "Penataan", an arrangement of traditional pieces into a continuous suite. He is currently the Music Director for the Indonesian Performing Arts Association of Minnesota (IPAAM).
Between postings of Indonesian Embassy staff, we have also benefited from other teachers. Allan Thomas was the groups's first teacher. Jack Body is our current manager. Both Allan and Jack are staff at Victoria University and are still actively involved with the group. Eddy Pursurbaryanto, a dalang, taught the group for a time while he was in New Zealand as a student.