Southbank Gamelan Players

Southbank Gamelan Players, Ensemble in Residence at Southbank Centre, was founded by Alec Roth in 1987. Working with dancers, puppeteers and composers from Indonesia, Europe and the USA, the group has established an international reputation for playing both traditional Javanese and contemporary gamelan music.

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Southbank Gamelan Players:

John Barber, Robert Campion, Isabelle Carré, Andy Channing, Sophie Ransby, Nikhil Dally, Aris Daryono, Cathy Eastburn, Joe Field, Manuel Jimenez, Nikki Kemp, Penny King, Xerxes Mazda, Malcolm Milner, John Pawson, Jonathan Roberts, Pete Smith, Mike Steel, John Whitfield, Esther Danmeri, Joe Browning, Jenny McCallum, Dave McKenny, Charles Matthews, and Charlotte Pugh.

Notable Performances and Collaborations:

Javanese Music and Dance - regular collaborations with dancers, choreographers, composers and musicians from Central Java, including BBC Prom Concert with artists from STSI Surakarta (1998); performance in the Settembre Musica Festival, Turin with Yogyakarta-based dance company Wahyuning Kuswala (2001); and Ramayana dance-drama trilogy with the Sunarno Dance Company (2003-2005) in UK (Queen Elizabeth Hall, Manchester RNCM, Aldeburgh Festival) and Italy.

Wayang Kulit (Shadow-Puppet Plays) - accompanying renowned master-puppeteers with performances in both Javanese and English, including a contemporary Javanese wayang kulit with Slamet Gundono and Contemporary Indonesian Performing Artists, WOMAD 1997); a Ramayana wayang in English with Joko Susilo (2002); and an all-night performance with Ki Purbo Asmoro (Southbank Centre, 2007).

Contemporary Dance - collaborations with contemporary choreographers and dancers including Mark Morris Dance Group, Edinburgh Festival (1996); Wayne McGregor, Encoder (part of Shobana Jeyasingh's Away Game, 1997); Kennenth Tharp, Songs and Dances from the Tempest with music by Alec Roth (1998 & 2001); Filip van Hufel, Triggered installation with composer Duncan Chapman (2001).

Ramayana with the Sunamo Dance Company (3 performances between 2001 and 2005). New Music for Gamelan - performances of contemporary gamelan music written or arranged by composers in the UK, Europe and America: Premiere of the music-theatre work The Knight with the Lion commissioned by SBGP from composer Adrian kee and librettist Matthew Sweeney with the help of the Arts Council of England (1995); MTV Unplugged with Björk - an arrangement of the song One Day for gamelan, tuba and tabla (1996); ISCM World Music Days, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, including the first performance of Salvatore Sciarrino's Waiting for the Wind, specially commissioned by SBGP (1998); French tour of new compositions for gamelan by François-Bernard Mâche, Jean-Yves Bosseur and Symon Clarke (2002); collaboration and performances with the BBC Symphony Orchestra of Geoffrey Poole's Swans Reflecting Elephants for gamelan and orchestra (2004); a concert of music from the film score by Rahayu Supanggah for Opera Jawa (British Film Institute, 2007). Collaboration with Rahayu Supanggah and Electronic Music Duo 'Plaid' (2009) which led to a subsequent UK tour in 2010.

Wayang Kulit photo: Maurisca Perez

Artist in residence

Rahayu Supanggah

Born in Java, 1949, into a family of master puppeteers, renowned musician and composer has become one of Indonesia's most prolific artists working in the field of gamelan music and culture. He also enjoys an international reputation as a pioneering academic and collaborator in this field. In May 2007, Southbank Centre supported by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, proudly appointed Rahayu Supanggah as Associate Artist. Supanggah will assist with performances and the development of the gamelan programme for the as associate artist.

Supanggah began his studies at the traditional Arts Academy (ASKI/STSI) in Surakarta and at the young age of sixteen, was selected to represent Indonesia in an important cultural mission to Japan, China and Korea. In 1985, Supanggah graduated with a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from the University of Paris and subsequently joined the teaching staff at STSI (now ISI), Surakarta, lecturing in ethnomusicology, composition and aesthetics. He was appointed rector of STSI between 1997 and 2002, and continues to coordinate post-graduate studies there.

Over the years, Supanggah has lectured in the USA, Holland, France, Switzerland and Britain, and has published many influential articles on gamelan music and theory. His latest book Bothekan Karawitan was published in 2002.

In addition to his academic achievements, Supanggah has collaborated internationally in varied roles as composer, performer, advisor and artistic director with many leading artists.

Rahayu Supanggah A strong interest in cultural exchange has driven many of his collaborative works including Mahabharata with Peter Brook (1994), Lear with Ong Ken Sen (1995) and I La Galigo with Robert Wilson (2004). More recently, Supanggah has collaborated with Canadian choreographer Andre Gingras on his dance work Losing the Form in Darkness as well as writing and performing the music for the Indonesian film Opera Jawa directed by Garin Nugroho, which won the SACEM Prize for best soundtrack and musical creation at the 28th Festival des 3 Continents in Nantes, 2006.

Supanggah worked very closely with the Southbank Gamelan Players and performed with gamelan groups from around the UK during the Overture Festival 'Gamelanathon' in June 2007 to celebrate the reopening of the Royal Festival Hall. In September 2007, Supanggah returned to Southbank Centre to perform music from the score of Opera Jawa at the BFI Southbank, host a symposium discussing the role of gamelan in the UK and Europe, and direct the music for an all-night Shadow-Play performed on the Clore Ballroom with leading Javanese puppet-master Ki Purbo Asmoro.

In addition to his work as Southbank Centre Associate Artist, Supanggah is currently collaborating on a composition for String Quartet with the Kronos Quartet.