Cambridge Gamelan Society

Art Center · Cambridge, United Kingdom

About Cambridge Gamelan Society

The Cambridge Gamelan Society is a community Javanese gamelan ensemble based at the University of Cambridge's Faculty of Music, rehearsing in the Cudworth Room at 11 West Road. Although administered through the university, the society is explicitly open to anyone in the wider Cambridge community, not only students or staff, and newcomers with no prior musical background are welcomed; each term begins with a free taster session before the regular Tuesday evening rehearsals resume. The ensemble performs both traditional and contemporary repertoire for Javanese gamelan, an orchestra of tuned bronze percussion instruments including gongs, metallophones, and drums that originated in Java and Bali.

The University of Cambridge's own instrument collection includes a Javanese gamelan housed within the Faculty of Music, and the society is the primary vehicle through which that instrument set is regularly played and taught. Recent activity recorded by the society includes collaboration with a visiting master gamelan musician from East Java on a shadow puppet theatre, or wayang kulit, production, pairing live gamelan accompaniment with traditional Javanese puppetry and narration. This kind of cross disciplinary work, combining music, dance, and storytelling, is typical of how university and community gamelan groups in the United Kingdom introduce newcomers to the tradition while giving more experienced players a chance to develop repertoire drawn from both central Javanese court music and more contemporary compositions.

For members of the Indonesian diaspora in and around Cambridge, as well as anyone with an interest in Indonesian performing arts, the society offers a rare standing opportunity in the United Kingdom to learn and perform gamelan hands on rather than only watch it performed. Unlike many touring or festival only showcases, rehearsals happen on a fixed weekly schedule during university terms, giving continuity across the academic year. The Faculty of Music building at 11 West Road is centrally located on the university's West Cambridge arts site, within walking distance of the city centre. No general public telephone line or email specific to the society was found during research; prospective members are directed to contact the society through the Faculty of Music or by attending a term's opening taster session directly.

Address

Cudworth Room, Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge, 11 West Road, Cambridge, United Kingdom

Opening hours

Tuesday
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM (term-time rehearsals; first session of term is a free taster for newcomers)

Contact

Category

Indonesian Art Center in United Kingdom

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