The Gathering of the Gamelans 2025 took place on Saturday, 8 November 2025, at Collingwood Town Hall in Melbourne. The event brought together 11 Victorian arts groups showcasing the rich diversity of Indonesian gamelan traditions. Among them was Rohan Iyer, who performed with four different groups: Putra Panji Asmara, Melbourne Community Gamelan, Reog Jangkar Bumi, and Sekar Kidul.
Iyer, who also serves as President of Melbourne Community Gamelan, played a range of instruments including gender, siter, kendang, kacapi indung, and kacapi rincik.
Iyer, who has a South Indian Tamil cultural background and used to live in Singapore, first picked up gamelan in year six. Now, Iyer, who’s also a professional tuba player, is completing a PhD in Musicology and Ethnomusicology at the University of New South Wales, with his dissertation focusing on Tanjidor Betawi.
Listen to the conversation between SBS Indonesian and Rohan Iyer about how his multicultural background shapes his approach to music, what drew him to gamelan and Tanjidor Betawi, and why he reckons events like the Gathering of the Gamelans matter in Australia.
Listen to the full podcast.
