List of gamelan ensembles in the United States

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There are more than 100 gamelan groups in the United States. A gamelan is a traditional Indonesian ensemble, usually from Bali or Java, that includes metal-keyed instruments like metallophones and xylophones, drums and gongs, plus bamboo flutes and bowed or plucked strings; singers may also take part. The earliest U.S. gamelan appeared at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, and that instrument set is now in the Chicago Field Museum. The first university program to teach gamelan was started by Mantle Hood at UCLA in 1958. Today, active gamelan groups exist in about two-thirds of U.S. states, using instruments from Java, Bali, Sunda (West Java), Banyumas, or North America. Many schools, colleges, and other institutions own gamelan sets, and community ensembles are growing. The first directory of North American gamelan, published by Barbara Benary in 1993 for Ear Magazine, listed 98 sets; since then the number has continued to rise.