Musicians
Burhan Sukarma was born and raised in the village of Karawang in Sunda. He played a variety of musical instruments during his student years, and after moving to the regional capital, Bandung, in the late 1960's, began to study the suling (end-blown bamboo flute). Since that time he has become a master musician on the suling and other instruments of the gamelan degung ensemble, and has appeared on the majority of traditional and contemporary suling recordings produced in West Java. From 1972-1986 he was famous as principal musician at Radio Repulik Indonesia (RRI) in Bandung. He has toured France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Canada, and the United States. He currently records for MTR and Jugala recording companies in Indonesia. In the United States he has taught at the University of Washington, San Jose State University, UC Santa Cruz, and UC Berkeley, while continuously directing Pusaka Sunda.
Undang Sumarna was born into a musical family in the city of Bandung, the capital of West Java. As a small boy he learned to play gamelan under the tutelage of his grandfather, the renowned Abah Kayat. He had already mastered the complex art of Sundanese drumming by his early twenties, when he was chosen to teach Sundanese music at the Center for World Music in San Francisco, California. Several years later, he was appointed Lecturer in Music at UC Santa Cruz, where over the past twenty years he has introduced hundreds of UC students to Sundanese music and dance and directed many ambitious music, dance, and theatre productions. Over the years, Undang has expanded his expertise to include Sundanese dance and wayang, degung, angklung, and other musical genres, as well as music and dance from Cirebon. Undang has also taught at KOKAR Bandung, UCLA, and San Jose State University; he performs regularly in the United States with Sundanese ensembles Pusaka Sunda and Sekar Asih.
Edward Garcia is a recent graduate of California Institute of the Arts, where he played Balinese and Javanese gamelan. Like many other members, he first learned Sundanese gamelan with Undang Sumarna at UC Santa Cruz.
Daniel Kelley is one of Pusaka Sunda's original members. His musical skills are matched by his uncanny ability to fix anything.
Raymond Lapuz began studying Sundanese music while an undergraduate at UC Santa Cruz. He teaches mathematics at Cañada College.
Laura McColm has studied Javanese and Sundanese gamelan for many years. She flies helicopters for a living.
Gretchen McPherson is one of Pusaka Sunda's newest discoveries. She also is a graphic designer and is responsible for Pusaka Sunda's beautiful website and publicity materials.
Kenneth Miller is a long-time student of gamelan music and one of Pusaka Sunda's most faithful members. He also has mastered the art of focaccia baking.
Danni Redding Lapuz studied Balinese and Javanese music in Hawaii, but became a disciple of Sundanese music when she married into the Pusaka Sunda family.
Olivia Sears, in addition to playing with Pusaka Sunda, is the founder of the Center for the Art of Translation, a non-profit organization devoted to cross-cultural understanding through poetry, literature, visual and performing arts.
Henry Spiller has been involved with Pusaka Sunda since its inception. He is an ethnomusicologist on the faculty of UC Davis.
Rae Ann Stahl co-founded Pusaka Sunda and has kept the group running smoothly for twenty years. She first encountered Sundanese music as a student at UCSC. She has worked for the San Jose State University library for as long as she has been involved with Pusaka Sunda.