Southbank Gamelan Players

Ensemble in Residence at Southbank Centre, Southbank Gamelan Players has achieved an international reputation for collaborating with dancers, puppeteers and composers from Indonesia, Europe and the USA. The ensemble - comprising many players who have studied extensively in Java and Bali - performs both traditional Javanese repertoire and champions new music for gamelan.

Renowned Javanese musician, composer and ethnomusicologist Dr Rahayu Supanggah agreed to act as Associate Artist at Southbank Centre and works closely with Southbank Gamelan Players to devise innovative projects for the future direction of the gamelan programme.

In 1988, the Royal Festival Hall was presented with a full set of Central Javanese gamelan instruments Kyai Lebdhajiwa (The Venerable Spirit of Perfection) as a gift of friendship from the people of The Republic of Indonesia to the people of Great Britain. Since its arrival, the gamelan has become a popular and important part of artistic and educational life at Southbank Centre. Founded by Alec Roth, the gamelan programme has inspired similar education programmes throughout Great Britain and Europe - many of which rely of the expertise of the tutors from Southbank Centre.

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).

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).

Website: www.sbgp.org.uk

Visit our dedicated minisite: www.southbankcentre.co.uk/gamelan