|
|
Steve in Java!
Exciting news I'd like to share... One of my students from the gamelan course has got a scholarship to study in Java for a year. It's the first time for over ten years that someone from the North East has done this.
Ste has been learning Indonesian and Javanese languages, singing and playing in a wide range of ensembles in Java including shadow puppet performances, contemporary gamelan groups and 'fusion' bands mixing traditional Javanese and Western instruments and musical ideas.
He will be returning to the North East later this year and it will be great to have his new knowledge and skills in the group here.
A Gamelan for Newcastle?
Ste is now looking around for a set of instruments to bring back with him and we are hoping to house these somewhere in Newcastle. Although Durham is not far away this would make it much easier to organise workshops for schools this side of the Tyne.
This would also allow us to run evening sessions much more easily and enable us to get performance groups going, hopefully including a range of Javanese and 'fusion' styles.
We need a home for the instruments
Get in touch if you have any ideas!
|
|
incaHoots Gigs
Incahoots is a new Latin / Funk seven piece band - now taking bookings...
See us at Wylam Institute on Saturday 29th November, 8pm.
Also at Jesmond Cricket Club on Friday 12th December, 7:30pm.
Featuring
- Trumpet: Helen Walker
- Soprano / Tenor: Bridget Enever
- Alto: John Loftus
- Trombone: Paul Fletcher
- Trombone: Rob Driver
- Keys: Gill Graham
- Bass: Mick Danby
- Drums: Paul Wight
more info at www.incahoots.info
Repertoire: afro-cuban / columbian / new york and more..
Get in touch if you want to book the band for your event.
|
- A Gamelan is a whole set of musical instruments found all over South East Asia but especially on the Indonesian islands of Java and Bali.
- Almost all of the instruments of the Gamelan are percussion instruments, most of them made from bronze or iron: gongs, metallophones and chimes of various shapes and sizes. There are also bamboo flutes, a xylophone, drums and more.
- The Durham Gamelan is from Central Java. It is made from bronze. The instruments can be played by between five and fifteen people at one time. It was one of the first playable gamelans to come to the UK.
- There are many different types of Gamelan, even just within Java - Indonesia's most populous island.
- The traditional music of the Gamelan is still very widely played and enjoyed. It is used at ceremonial occasions, at weddings, to accompany dance and puppet theatre (including shadow puppets) and at informal concerts.
- The music of the Gamelan is called Karawitan, which literally means 'refinement'. It is one of the most developed forms of 'non-western' music. It varies from the loud battle scene music to some of the most relaxing and meditative sounds you will ever come across.
- The Gamelan provides an incredible opportunity for musical participation and education. There is no physical barrier to playing and a group of adults who thought they were unmusical, or a group of young children, or anyone else, can be playing real music within the space of a short workshop.
- It is easy to learn the basics but there is also plenty to challenge - Javanese music combines simple melodies with complex improvised ornamentation.
|
|
Who?
I am Paul Fletcher, based in Newcastle UK, part time community musician / music educator and part time database / web systems developer. I am freelance at both: get in touch if you are interested in making use of my services at paul@musicalmetal.com.
Please get in touch anyway - and keep coming back as this site will be growing over the coming months.
|
Performance Group
We meet on Wednesdays 2:15-4:15pm
After our summer break we will restart sometime during September. Contact me if you are interested in joining the group.
If you are interested in coming along / joing the group / hearing us play / booking us / school workshops please contact paul@musicalmetal.com
For more info, click on the Gamelan link above
|
|