Latihan
13 to 31 JANUARY 2026
ABOUT
Since 2001, the Gamelan Ensemble Singa Nglaras (founded by Dr. Jan Mrazek) has brought people together through the practice of Javanese gamelan, sustained by the weekly rhythm of latihan. While latihan can mean training for performance, within Singa Nglaras it more often means gathering to play together, for enjoyment, connection, and the shared pleasure of music. Importantly, while music is at the centre of latihan, latihan would be unthinkable without socializing, conversations, and sharing of ideas and impressions about music and music making. Music making, conversing, and being together blend and enhance each other.
Over three weeks, Latihan, initiated by Zachary Chan in conversation with Jan Mrazek, Preciosa de Joya & Rosemainy Buang of the Singa Nglaras Gamelan Ensemble will introduce the practice of Latihan—communal music-making through gamelan, as a way of fostering connection, dialogue, and collective growth within the contemporary arts community. 136 Goethe Lab will be transformed into a shared space for music, conversation, and reflection, it aims to cultivate a sense of community that extends across artistic, cultural, and geographical boundaries.
The series of latihan will include free workshops for anyone interested in the artform, as well as focused sessions with moderated conversations on the art form; as is usual with latihan, music making is punctuated by an exchange of ideas and experiences. Sessions will also be guided by pelatih (professional musicians) Anon Suneko from Yogyakarta and Angger Widhi Asmara from Surakarta.The three weeks of communal music learning, music making, conversing, and reflecting on music and togetherness, will culminate in an overnight klenengan, an informal gamelan gathering where all participants are welcome to play and share ideas and experiences.
Public Events
1. Latihan Singa Nglaras. In these sessions, members of the Singa Nglaras Gamelan Ensemble will be rehearsing a more advanced repertory. There will be discussions about gamelan and its culture, some themed and moderated. Anyone with medium-advanced experience of gamelan playing is welcome to join playing, and everyone is invited to watch, listen to music, and participate in discussion.
2. Latihan for beginners. These sessions are intended for anyone with no or little experience of learning to play gamelan. Participants are encouraged to attend as many sessions as they can. Participants are also invited to come to the final all-night playing session (klenengan), where they can play some compositions.
3. Moderated themed conversations. These will take place during some of the latihan sessions, interspersed with music making. Everyone can participate in the discussions.
SCHEDULE
13 Jan, Tuesday
730 – 930pm
Latihan Singa Nglaras
14 Jan, Wednesday
730 – 930pm
Latihan for beginners
15 Jan, Thursday
730 – 930pm
Latihan Singa Nglaras with a moderated conversation
Topic: Gamelan & Community
17 Jan, Saturday
130 – 330pm
Latihan for beginners
430 – 730pm
Latihan Singa Nglaras with a moderated conversation
Topic: Gamelan and place [styles and physical/social places]
20 Jan, Tuesday
730 – 930pm
Latihan Singa Nglaras
21 Jan, Wednesday
730 – 930pm
Latihan for beginners
24 Jan, Saturday
130 – 330pm
Beginners Workshop
730 – 930pm
Latihan Singa Nglaras with a moderated conversation
Topics:
Gamelan and time
Gamelan and language: Metaphors
25 Jan, Sunday
130 – 330pm
Latihan for beginners
430 – 730pm
Latihan Singa Nglaras with a moderated conversation
Topic: Gamelan, dance, and wayang
27 Jan, Tuesday
730 – 930pm
Latihan Singa Nglaras with a moderated conversion
Topic: Contemporary Compositions
28 Jan, Wednesday
730 – 930pm
Latihan for beginners
29 Jan, Thursday
730 – 930pm
Latihan Singa Nglaras with a moderated conversion
Topic: Gamelan and society/culture
31 Jan, Saturday
8pm – 3am
Klenengan
The Artists
Singa Nglaras, meaning “relaxing lion,” is a gamelan ensemble formed in January 2004 and managed by Dr. Jan Mrázek from the Department of Southeast Asian Studies. Its members include NUS students, alumni, faculty, and members of the public. The ensemble focuses on the relaxed enjoyment and appreciation of gamelan music. While valuing a calm approach, they also explore the deeper, more complex aspects of the music to enhance understanding and enjoyment. The name reflects both relaxation and harmony, aligning with their belief that deeper engagement with gamelan music enriches the overall experience.
Anon Suneko is the founder of Omah Gamelan, an art community located in Bambanglipuro, Bantul, 20km away from Yogyakarta, and is composed of local residents and managed by professional artists. Omah Gamelan is deeply embedded in the local community, serving as a cultural space dedicated to nurturing the youth through the preservation and revitalization of the Javanese performance arts. Given its mission, along with its strong relationships with local schools, universities, and communities, Omah Gamelan serves as an ideal liaison and strategic partner for conducting intercultural engagement at the grassroots level.
Angger Widhi Asmara is the founder of Komunitas Gamelan Mutihan, a collective of young artists driven by a strong spirit of community and social engagement. Based in Surakarta, Mutihan is dedicated to empowering emerging artists to create new works while also honing their skills across other art forms such as wayang kulit and dance. Mentored by local residents and seasoned masters, Mutihan serves as a nucleus responsible in birthing the next generation of great artistes. Today, it stands as a premier gamelan ensemble, regularly accompanying major dance and theater productions at universities, government institutions, and the Kraton Surakarta Hadiningrat (Royal Palace of Surakarta).
Jan Mrázek grew up in Czechoslovakia and trained as a violinist at the Prague Conservatory before turning to Javanese and Balinese gamelan. He studied art history and Japanese at the University of Michigan and completed a PhD at Cornell on Javanese shadow puppet theatre, based on extensive fieldwork. After postdoctoral research at Leiden University on traditional arts and modern media, he taught at the University of Washington and joined the National University of Singapore in 2003. His research spans Southeast Asian performing arts, travel writing, maritime worlds, and Czech encounters with colonial Southeast Asia. He founded the NUS Singa Nglaras Gamelan Ensemble and continues to teach through fieldwork, music, and travel.
Preciosa de Joya studied philosophy in the Ateneo de Manila University, where she wrote an M.A. thesis on Walter Benjamin’s idea of history, developing an interest in historiography, religion, and aesthetics. In an attempt to reflect critically on and move beyond the limits of the discipline of philosophy, she took her Ph.D. in Southeast Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore, under the supervision of Filipino historian, Reynaldo Ileto.
Her dissertation, entitled “In Search of Filipino Philosophy,” is a study of the intellectual landscape—the personages and the struggles involved in the shaping of philosophical practices in the Philippines, but also a questioning that explores the possibility of philosophical thinking beyond the spaces of academic discourse.
Rosemainy Buang is a gamelan musician, educator, composer, and sound artist from Singapore. With a decade of training in gamelan, she is dedicated to expanding her creative horizons through collaborative projects with other artists from diverse disciplines. Approaching artmaking with a multidisciplinary and experimental attitude, she attempts to question, build upon and expand the limits of traditional soundscapes, philosophies and aesthetics.
Spanning several mediums, the work of Zachary Chan reflects his composite background in visual communications, graphic design, and sonic arts. His practice often unfolds through collaborations with other artists and he has written music and designed sound for experimental films, theatre plays, video games, storytelling, and art installations.
The Space
136 GOETHE LAB is a project space at the Goethe-Institut Singapore. Housed in the former library and reading room, the space is intended as a response to the need for physical spaces for the arts, and an ongoing conversation with the public and arts community in Singapore.
LATIHAN is supported as part of the open call for 136 GOETHE LAB, which invited applicants to activate the space with a group proposal.