Celebrating Gamelan in Britain

Britain has over 100 gamelan troupes in London, York and Glasgow. Around 15 are actively performing across UK cities and even overseas. The gamelan is now used in therapy for prison inmates and people with substance use disorder.

October 23, 2017

ON April 29, traditional Javanese music could be heard cutting through the quiet of Bristol, UK. Seventeen musicians from the Candra Gita Suara Gamelan troupe, mostly Caucasian, skillfully played a range of instruments, from the kebyar (gong) to the xylophone-like gender. The new gamelan (traditional instrumental ensemble) instruments from Bali, worth £15,000, had been transported on two trucks from Plymouth to Bristol, a 2.5-hour journey. Hundr

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