Ballroom Festive Gamelan Showcase

Ballroom Festive Gamelan Showcase

16 December 2007
The Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall

Part of a series of free lunchtime events on the Clore Ballroom in December 2007. Seven gamelan groups performed to members of the public and gamelan enthusiasts alike.

Kampung Reading Gamelan Group

The Kampung Reading Gamelan Group was founded two years ago by Tim Byard-Jones. The group comprises several members of the local Indonesian community in Reading and Wokingham. After participating in The Overture’s ‘Gamelanathon’ and ‘Saving Paradise’ festival, Southbank Centre welcomed the ensemble back to the Royal Festival Hall for the third time. The ensemble performed ladrang ‘Kagok Liwung’ with an accompanying gangsaran piece in the loud Yogyakarta style, ladrang ‘Wilujeng’, ladrang ‘Pangkur’, and a sequence of pieces which opens the Gara-gara, or clown scene, in the Yogyakarta-style shadow-puppet play.

CYM - Musicianship Students

Southbank Centre has joined forces with London’s Centre for Young Musicians (CYM) on Saturdays to offer groups of young musicians the chance to play the gamelan, develop their general musicianship skills and experience music-making outside of the mainstream Western music tradition.

Directed by Manuel Jimenez, the students performed a version of the Balinese piece ‘Baris’ in the pelog tuning.

Morley College Adult Intermediate Gamelan

Founded in partnership with Morley College, this intermediate gamelan class accommodates former members of Southbank Centre Gamelan programme who have reunited since the reopening of the Royal Festival Hall. Under the leadership of Pete Smith, many of the musicians already have several years of experience playing the gamelan to a high standard.

The group performed ketawang  ‘Puspagiwang’ pelog barang,  langgam ‘Ngimpi’ slendro sanga and gending ‘Rujak Sentul going into  ladrang  ‘Srundheng Gosong’ pelpog nem.

Oxford Gamelan Society

Directed by Pete Smith, the Oxford Gamelan Society is one of Britain’s longest established community gamelan groups. The Society meets regularly to play an heirloom gamelan, Kyai madu Laras (the Venerable Sweet Harmony) belonging to the Bate Collection of musical instruments housed at the Pitt-Rivers Museum. Their performance highlights include a three-hour Javanese shadow puppet play beneath a Tyrannosaurus Rex in the Natural History Museum in Oxford, The Overture weekend at Southbank Centre and on the main stage at Nottingham World Music Festival.

The Oxford Gamelan Society beginners performed ladrang ‘Eling-eling’ pelog lima, and the advanced players performed ladrang ‘Grompol Thek’,  slendro nem (songs by Ki Nartosabdo), inggah  ‘Kinanthi’ to ladrang ‘Kembang Pepe’ slendro manyura, going into ladrang  ‘Sigra Mangsah’.

CYM Piano Students

In conjunction with Southbank Centre, young pianists from London’s CYM have undertaken a Saturday morning gamelan course as a means of participating in more ensemble-based music-making. To celebrate the completion of their first term of classes, the group performed ladrang ‘Eling-eling’ pelog nem with tutor Manuel Jimenez.

Southbank Gamelan Players: Ensemble in Residence at Southbank Centre

Founded by Alec Roth in 1987, Southbank Gamelan Players (SBGP) has established an international reputation for performances of traditional Javanese music and for championing new music for gamelan. Many of the musicians have studied extensively in Java and Bali, and tutor for Southbank Centre Gamelan Programme and gamelan projects across the UK and Europe.

Since May 2007, SBGP have worked extensively with eminent musician, composer and Southbank Centre Associate Artist Rahayu Supanggah to re-launch the gamelan programme at the Royal Festival Hall.

Southbank Gamelan Players performed a suite of pieces in slendro sanga: ladrang ‘Sri Karongron’, ketawang ‘Sinom Parijatha’ and dolonan ‘Puyung Ageng’ going into srepegan Banyumas.

The Gamelan Showcase was followed by two public taster sessions on the Clore Ballroom led by Pete Smith.