The University of Michigan Alumni Association of Indonesia have pledged a gift of $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. These gifts are made in celebration of the University of Michigan’s Bicentennial in 2017, which also marks the 50th anniversary of the U-M Gamelan ensemble.

The Javanese Gamelan Endowment was established in 2010, building from an initial bequest from Rosannah Steinhoff, who with her husband Bill had been a member of the gamelan in the 1980s. The endowment exists to fund educational programs, concerts, and upkeep of the instruments, as well as visits and residencies by expert Javanese musicians, dancers, and puppeteers. With this pledge from the Alumni of Indonesia, the endowment will help ensure the continued vitality of the gamelan program at U-M.

The new U-M Indonesian Alumni Student Support Fund will be an endowment that supports U-M students’ study abroad in Indonesia, including those who wish to pursue the study of gamelan. The Alumni of Indonesia’s pledge for this fund will benefit from the U-M Third Century Matching Initiative, which provides a match of one dollar for every two dollars given.

Both funds together represent a total gift of $550,000 and will be accumulated over five years. They will be administered by the U-M Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS), which maintains the Javanese Gamelan Endowment. 

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