In the village of Pengosekan, Ubud, Bali, across the street from the temple, is a family compound that is the home to Çudamani.
Comprised of a core membership of thirty-one young virtuoso musicians and dancers, Çudamani is a professional company with a working philosophy much like a family temple or sanggar.
Members see themselves as a community of leaders who, through their music and dance, positively contribute to the artistic, cultural and political life of their village.

The group traces its roots from the '70s when the children of Pengosekan, a village well known for its community of painters, weavers and musicians, gathered after school to play music in the village balai (pavilion).
Over the years these independent-minded children formed a new kind of organization that has become a pride of the village.
Tourism has had a powerful impact on the arts in Bali, particularly in Ubud, the famous tourist town just north of Pengosekan.
By the '90s most of the musicians of Ubud were playing for tourists in lieu of the needs of the community, and members were hired and fired depending on their technical ability.
The youth of Pengosekan often found themselves working in this system - experiencing the financial benefits of tourism while also being keenly aware of the artistic and cultural dangers of this "professional" arrangement.

In September 1997, director Dewa Putu Berata, artistic director Dewa Ketut Alit and others from Pengosekan called together a number of talented and promising young people from different areas in Bali to form Sanggar Çudamani.

Of significance is the set of instruments used by Çudamani which is a "Semarandana" ensemble. This type of ensemble is still quite rare in Bali, and Çudamani is on the forefront of work in this style. The tuning system used contains "extra" notes which allows the group to perform a pieces from "Angklung", "Semar Pegulingan" and "Gong Kebyar" (all distinct gamelan ensembles) on the same set of instruments. This of course allows the group great freedom and diversity in its repertoire, with the numerous modes and tuning systems each having a distinct atmosphere, color or "mood." Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.