American Gamelan Institute for both new and traditional gamelan music, scholarly writings on gamelan, as well as audio and video recordings. Its founder and director is the composer and gamelan musician Jody Diamond. The organization's scope includes gamelan music as practiced in Indonesia as well as around the world. The journal Balungan was started in 1984 to encourage a dialog between artists and scholars involved in gamelan. Current and back issues of "Balungan" are on line, and many libraries have subscriptions. The sixteenth issue was printed in December 2010. The Institute also has a podcast, called "Gongcast" and hosts directories of gamelan groups
Gamelan common in national arts conservatories founded in the middle of the 20th century. Gamelan's role in rituals is so important that there is a Javanese saying, "It is not official until the gong is hung". Some performances are associated with royalty, such as visits by the sultan of Yogyakarta. Certain gamelans are associated with specific rituals, such as the "Gamelan Sekaten", which is used in celebration of "Mawlid an-Nabi" (Muhammad's birthday). In Bali, almost all religious rituals include gamelan performance. Gamelan is also used in the ceremonies of the Catholic church in Indonesia. Certain pieces are designated for starting and