GAMELAN
Taster session & 5 week course

 Wednesdays, 13th November - 18th December, 2024

The community inherited a beautiful Javanese gamelan earlier in the year, built by master crafters near Surakarta in Java, Indonesia. It is one of a select few regularly practicing Javanese gamelans in the South West, and we are very pleased to give an opportunity to interested individuals in the area to join us for weekly classes on Wednesday evenings, beginning with a free taster session on 13th November 2024. 


The classes will be led by William Barnardo, who studied gamelan in Java and will bring years of teaching experience to the sessions, supported by the Alfoxton community. Places are limited and booking is essential


What is Gamelan?

Gamelan is the name of both a style of music and an instrument ensemble. It is rare in that it is both incredibly beautiful to listen to, and relatively straightforward to play. It is the traditional music of several Indonesian islands. Our gamelan is from the Javanese tradition. Watch this short documentary or this performance to get a sense of the music. 


Can anyone join?

Yes :) Gamelan is a group music making experience, with parts for those with both limited musical experience and those that want to go deeper into the instrument. As with all Alfoxton events, the atmosphere is welcoming and hot drinks and snacks will be available throughout. 


When is it?

A taster session will be on Wednesday 13 November 7-9.  We will then run a 5 week course on Wednesdays 7-9pm on:


In order to develop together as a group, we ask that people who want to continue beyond the taster session to commit to the full 5 weeks up until Christmas. 


How much does it cost?

After the first free taster session on 13th November, we will operate on a 'dana' or gift/donation basis. Read more about dana.


If you have any more questions, please email events@alfoxtonpark.org

ABOUT THE FACILITATIOR

WILLIAM BARNARDO 

William is a musician, workshop leader, artist, and teacher based in the Exeter. His work is informed by socially engaged art and Central Javanese aesthetics as well as philosophical writings, such as Dewey’s work on art and education and John Cage’s expression of philosophical ideas through music. His recent work has included setting up South Devon Gamelan at Ashburton Arts Centre; organising a three day music and traditional craft festival; organising, curating, and delivering an Indonesian Culture Fair at Ashburton Arts Centre; several commissioned landscape and portrait oil paintings; as well as running Japanese and Indonesian fermentation workshops. 

William spends a lot of time working with artists and non-artists to create community music and socially engaged installation art. Having graduated with first class honours from the University of York reading music he went on to study Solonese Karawitan (traditional music for gamelan, an Indonesian percussion orchestra) at Institut Seni Indonesia Surakarta, Indonesia. The difference in teaching as well as the radically different musical aesthetics he experienced has informed his practice which now, emphasises: processes; cycles; and group collaboration and learning. Completing paintings and compositions creates the necessary balance to ongoing artistic engagement with groups, charities, and traditions.

Travel

TRAVEL

The nearest railway stations are Bridgwater and Taunton. We are about 1h 15min from Bristol by car. 

The 15 bus leaves Bridgwater at 16:50 during college term dates and stops at the Plough Inn in Holford. We are a 15min walk from there.

Please get in touch for further advice with public transport, or for help arranging lifts / carpools.

Make sure to put "Coach House 2, Alfoxton Park" into Google Maps. Other variations will take you to Alfoxton House nearby which is not us. Otherwise use grid reference 51.165187, -3.220080.

The What3Words for our car park are ///soup.candy.huddling

accessibility

We are committed to Alfoxton being a fully accessible venue and are working hard to achieve this. However, while the renovation work continues, visitors with specific mobility or accommodation needs may experience barriers to accessing all areas of the building and land.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding accessibility, please do get in touch. 

Costs

Alfoxton Park is a charity and works on the principle of Dana or a 'gift' economy. Read more about Dana here.

You will be invited to make a donation to Alfoxton when you attend.

Any Questions?

Send us an email at events@alfoxtonpark.org.uk