On Sunday, Nusantara Arts will be celebrating 10 years of gamelan in Buffalo with Two Islands, One Gong at Asbury Hall.

The matinee performance (3 p.m.) is presented in partnership with Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center.

The show will bring together bronze orchestras of Java and Bali alongside Balinese dance. The performance celebrates a dacade since Matt Dunning brought the first iron Javanese gamelan instruments to Buffalo, a handbuilt set from Karagan village in Solo, Central Java.

The celebratory program opens with the Javanese ensemble performing a piece on those same original instruments before moving on to the future when Nusantara Arts’ two full bronze ensembles, one Javanese and one Balinese, take the stage. The event will also feature Balinese guest artistic director I Gusti Komin Darta and the musicians, dancers, and teaching artists who have made Buffalo what Dunning calls “one of the most unlikely homes for Indonesian performing arts in North America.”

BPO summer calendar includes free park performance

July is a busy time for the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, ranging from shows at Terminal B to local park shows.

The performances include:

• Friday, July 3 at Terminal B at Buffalo Outer Harbor with Sound & Sky: Independence Eve Celebration with Fireworks, 7 p.m. General admission is free, with VIP packages also available.  
  
• Friday, July 17, 7:30 p.m.: The BPO returns to Kleinhans Music Hall for Music of the Grateful Dead with the BPO & Crazy Fingers, conducted by Bradley Thachuk.  
  
  
  
  Community Concerts, led by Grant O’Brien:
  
• Beaver Island State Park, Tuesday, July 7, 7 p.m.
  
• Concert for Unity, Friday, July 10, 7:30 p.m., Elim Christian Fellowship, 70 Chalmers Ave., Buffalo, featuring the Buffalo United Community Choir.
  
• North Park Community School #50, Thursday, July 16, 7 p.m.
  
• Clarence Town Park, Wednesday, July 22, 7:30 p.m.
  
• Academy Park, Lewiston, Friday, July 24, 7 p.m.
  
• Niawanda Park, Sunday, July 26, 7 p.m.
  

• The BPO will also present its annual Patron Appreciation Concert on Thursday, July 23 at 7:30 p.m. at Kleinhans. Offered by invitation to BPO patrons, subscribers, and donors as a thank-you for their continued support.

ART of WNY auditions for 2026-27

American Repertory Theater of WNY will hold the company’s general auditions for the upcoming season on Monday (May 25) ART is seeking to fill roles for productions throughout the season, staged readings through the New Play Workshop, and the recorded local playwright series. The auditions will run from 6 to 10 p.m.

Auditioners should prepare one monologue and 32 bars of music to be sung a cappella.

In a statement ART/WNY said it “is proud to have a legacy of giving unknown or unheard actors an opportunity to prove their talents. 60% of those who auditioned last season found work on ART’s stage.”

Time slots are split into 5-minute blocks. Auditoners should text their full name and requested time to 716-339-2999.