The U-M Alumni Association of Indonesia recently pledged $400,000 to the existing U-M Javanese Gamelan Endowment, as well as $100,000 to establish a new endowment called the U-M Indonesian Alumni Student Support Fund. The new fund will support study abroad experiences in Indonesia, as well as students wishing to study gamelan.

The first gamelan performance at U-M was held at Hill Auditorium in 1967. 2017 marks the fiftieth anniversary of this performance. The Alumni Association's gift qualifies for the U-M Third Century Matching Initiative, which provides a match of one dollar for every two dollars given.

“It is the wish of our Alumni Association’s chapter that our gift to the Javanese Gamelan Endowment be a start of a continuous study and proliferation of the Indonesian culture in the University of Michigan and beyond,” said Henry Rahardja, president of the U-M Alumni Association of Indonesia. “The Student Support Fund shall also be the start of a beautiful relationship between students of the University of Michigan and Indonesia. We invite you to come and learn our language, culture, economy and investment opportunities, and much more.”

Read more at the Society for Ethnomusicology.