Gamelan 2026 - We are full!!

We are so delighted to report that this year's Gamelan Project at Varndean school is now fully booked!! This means we can deliver this fantastic experience across two weeks in July to over 250 Sussex school children, and 30 teachers from 16 local schools! They will not only learn on the day but be supplied with pre and post workshop resources to take back to schools and share with others. Not only is this event completely free but we are also able to contribute to transport for the first time thanks to Arts Council National Lottery funding!!

The gamelan music of Indonesia, once experienced, cannot be forgotten. The resonant and shimmering soundscapes created by these extraordinary combinations of percussion instruments – gongs, metallophones, wood & bamboo xylophones, flutes, and so on – offer a unique introduction to forms of music-making unlike any others. The music can be hypnotic, relaxing, energising and meditative; it is essentially communal, and learning to perform it can be accessible to anyone irrespective of musical training or background. 

Students will experience directly this beautiful music resource, which can be a springboard to explore:  

• Composing & performing for classroom pitched percussion 

• The culture of Indonesia: Cookery / Textiles / Dance & Drama (including shadow puppets) / religion, myths & storytelling 

• The geography of Indonesia, especially volcanoes and the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’ 

Robbie Mitchell, Workshop Leader says" I have been teaching Javanese Gamelan for over 30 years, and am always thrilled to see the young people’s faces when they first see, then hear, the magic of the gamelan for the first time. They’ll never forget it!"

Huge thanks to Robbie, Beth, Varndean School and the Arts Council for making this possible. We cannot wait to hear the feedback from schools.