Artist, Educator, Musician, Composer

I NYOMAN WENTEN is one of Bali’s most accomplished dancers and musicians and is a highly celebrated teacher and performer.

He is deservingly a legendary Indonesian performing artists and is recognized and celebrated as a true master of Balinese music and dance. Furthermore, he has distinguished himself as a prominent teacher of those art forms in the US for many decades. A native of Bali, a small island in the Indonesian archipelago, he descended from many generations of great artists. He first studied with his late grandfather, who was a master puppeteer, musician, dancer and teacher. Wenten deepened his traditional training with formal study, first at Bali’s Conservatory of Music and Dance (known as Kokar), then at the National Academy of Music and Dance in Yogyakarta, Central Java, known as ASTI. 

He has studied with many national renown artists and great teachers in Java such as: K.P.H. (Kanjeng Pangeran Harya) Notoprojo (known as Pak Cokro), Romo Suryobronto, KRT Brontodiningrat, Romo Netyo, Romo Sasminta Mardowo, Romo Nggung Kisowo, Bapak S. Maridi etc. He has also studied with widely recognized Balinese artists and teachers such as: Bapak Wayan Berata, Bapak Nyoman Kakul, Bapak Ida Bagus Raka Bongkasa, Bapak Agung  Raka Batuan, Bapak Agung Oka Sading, Bapak Wayan Rendi, Bapak Nyoman Rembang, Bapak Raka Saba, Bapak Gusti Nyoman Panji, etc. Wenten also holds an MFA degree from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in Valencia, and a Ph.D in Ethnomusicology from UCLA. 

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

From 1964-1966, during President Sukarno’s era, he was a member of the Presidential Cultural Exchange. He has had performed for different head of states and dignitaries in many part of the world, including: China, Thailand, Cambodia, Japan, North and South Korea, the Philippines, Egypt etc. 

Wenten is known not only for his traditional music and dance but also for his creative East-West compositions and performance work. He has collaborated with numerous musicians, dancers, composers and choreographers, including: Morton Subotnick, Elaine Barkin, Miriam Scott, Robert Kyr, George Lewis, David Rosenboom, L Subramaniam, Adam Rudolph, Bill Alvis, Joti Rockwell, Judith Hill, Will Salmon, S. Maridi, Sardono W. Kusumo, Sal Murgiyanto, I Wayan Belawan, Nyoman Cerita, I Wayan Dibia, I Nyoman Catra, I Made Subandi, I Nyoman Winda, I Wayan Suweca, Ben Suharto.  

The Collaboration with Linda Sohln Elison, artistic director and  principal choreographer for Rhapsody and Taps, garnered the prestigious Lester Horton Prize for an outstanding musical composition; a 45 minutes piece which consisted of a four part dance choreography.

In 2003  he performed in Hong Kong collaborating with the Beijing Opera and D-Drum of Dallas, USA in an adoption of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s the Magic Flute. 

In October 2005 Wenten  led his gamelan group “Bharata Muni,” from his village, Sading, Bali. The group, with members consisted of 48 musicians and dancers, performed in many major cities in Mexico for four weeks.  The following year (2006) the group (Bharata Muni) was nominated for the “Las Lunas” for the best foreign group to perform in Mexico during the year of  2005. 

Wenten has also collaborated with a Canadian playwright Mr William Maranda to produce a music, and dance theater based on the Greek story “King Oedipus”. This spectacular showpiece involved 75 musicians, dancers, member of Balinese monkey chanters, and actors.  It was performed at the Krisranawa theater, Taman Budaya,  Performing Arts Center in Denpasar, Bali, for The Bali Arts Festival 2006.  

Wenten has collaborated with composer/musician David Rosenboom, dancers/choreographers such as Nanik Wenten, Hiroko Hojo, Bob Carroll and Andriana Mitchell, Viny Golia, performed in Denpasar, Bali for the Indonesia Arts Festival International V, November 2007 and October 2009 in Jakarta for  the Indonesia Arts Festival VI and Indonesia Festival VII in Surakarta.

Wenten collaborated with Rhapsody in Taps for the company’s 35th anniversary celebration, and with Open Gate Theatre presenting Hecuba: A Mixed Media Opera, the story based on the Euripides Play, directed by Will Simon.

He and his group, Gamelan “Burat Wangi,” (Fragrant Offering) – the prominent Los Angeles-based gamelan and dance group, have performed at  prestigious venues such as Disney Concert Hall, Music Center Doroty Chandler Pavilion, Aratani Theater, the REDCAT in Los Angeles and at various festivals. Wenten co-founded Burat Wangi in 1972 along with his wife Nanik Wenten, also a professor at Calarts, and his father-in-law, K.P.H. Notoprojo (Pak Cokro). The group continues to perform in various prestigious events and festivals and is now a non-profit organization. 

TEACHING CAREER

Pak Wenten’s teaching career has consisted of multiple international venues. He has taught at many prestigious universities and venues consisting of: The Indonesia Arts Institute (ISI) in Yogyakarta, Central Java, ISI Denpasar, Bali, The National Conservatory of Music and Dance in Yogyakarta and Surakarta, Java, and multiple gamelan music and dance programs throughout Asia, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Europe. In the U,S,A,, Wenten has instructed at: The Center for World Music in Berkeley, U.C Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, SDSU, San Francisco State University, San Jose State University, Loyola Marymount University, University of Wisconsin, Lewis and Clark University, Portland, Oregon; Goldsmith College, East London, Mills College, Oakland, Washington University, Seattle; UBC, Simon Fraser University, BC, Canada; Pomona College, Florida State of University, just to name them a few. Wenten has hosted numerous workshops throughout America and globally. 

RECORDINGS

Since 1988 Wenten has recorded and produced numerous gamelan CDs with C.M.P. Recording Company of Germany and has recorded more than thirty-five gamelan ensembles from West Java, Central and East Java, the island of Bali and Lombok. Currently, he is member of the Herb Alpert School of Music faculty and California Institute of the Arts.

AWARDS

In addition to receiving awards such as the Lester Horton Prize, Wenten is also the recipient of the prestigious Nicholas England Chair, and the Nellie Award from the California Institute of the Arts Alumni Association 2008, for outstanding service and commitment to the Arts and the CalArts community.  

Most recently, he has received a Legendary Musician Award an award given by Pacific Trade and Culture Alliance in recognition of outstanding achievements in international music and dance and service to the community. Wenten has also received a special award given by two members of the United States Congressional House of Representatives the Honorable Loretta Sanchez and Ed Royce in honor of his continuous endeavors to serving diverse communities.

In 2018, Bupati (Mayor) of Badung region, Bali, Mr. Nyoman Giri Prasta awarded Wenten with “Kerti Budaya,” and award for the contribution of promoting  and bringing Balinese culture to international stage.  

Also in 2018, Wenten was the subject of  the documentary film called “ Bali: Beats of Paradise,” which premiered on November 7 at the Academy of Motion Picture  Arts and Sciences, Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The movie highlighted Wenten’s accomplishments of more than 45 years in bringing gamelan music and dance globally, especially to the American audiences. The film was directed and produced by Livi Zheng, The same year he had collaborated with  Grammy Award-winning singer Judith Hill to produced a music video called “Queen of the Hill, “directed by Livi Zheng, in which within a month since it was launched, was viewed by more than a million viewers on YouTube. The movie Bali: Beats of Paradise was  Indonesia’s entry into the Oscar documentary feature race that year.

In 2024, Wenten received an award from the Governor of Bali at PKB (Bali Arts Center)! The prestigious award, called PARAMA BHAKTI BUDAYA, was given to Pak Wenten for his tireless dedication on promoting Balinese culture for over 50 years around the world. 

In 2025, Burat Wangi gamelan group presents Los Angeles Gamelan Festival, which will be held in June to honor Pak and Bu Wenten for their 50th anniversary of teaching Balinese music and dance in the U,S,A,

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