Email: dewa.suparta@uwaterloo.ca
I Dewa Made Supartais a musician, composer, and teacher born to a family of artists in Pengosekan, Bali, Indonesia. Immersed in Balinese gamelan from early childhood, he began performing with the children’s group of his village at age 10.
Dewa is a founding member of Çudamani, one of Bali’s most innovative gamelan ensembles, which has engaged in international tours, including performances at sacred music festivals, the Lincoln Center, in Italy, Greece, and Japan. He has engaged in collaborations with international artists, and performed and given workshops worldwide.
Since moving to Canada, Dewa has held the positions of Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Music at l’Université de Montréal (UdM) and Artistic Director of Gamelan Giri Kedaton, resident ensemble at UdM, and has been featured as a guest artist for numerous North American gamelan ensembles including Gamelan Gita Asmara, Gamelan Semara Winangun, and Bates College Gamelan Ensemble. At Conrad Grebel University College, he is artistic director of the UW Balinese Gamelan. He also offers private, semi-private, and group instruction for course credit or as an extra-curricular activity on the semara dana instruments at UW, and on a Balinese chamber percussion ensemble called gender (gen’de(ə)r).