The Sekar Gedhogan Gamelan Orchestra's community continues to grow. We did not have the large crowd that gathered last week, but of those there we had nearly full participation. We did without the amplifiers and microphones this week, leading to a slightly less diverse but perhaps more ethereal sound. We were again graced by the presence of Jules and Debbie who managed, despite a bit of Balinese bravado, to display a bit of the kinder side of silat; Bram and Ketut were happy to explore the more combative side. Also making performing appearances were Alex, Gary, Rafael, and Monel. The countries of origin of those taking part is tribute to the diversity of London and the universality of gamelan music: England, Argentina, Indonesia, Germany, Japan, Russia, United States, Turkey...

Thank you to all who attended last Sunday’s jam. Please remember that we have jams every Sunday evening. Perhaps this coming Sunday, 9 July, depending on the inclination of those attending, we will provide accompaniment to a radio broadcast of the World Cup Final. And if you do watch the game elsewhere, do stop in afterwards; there is no better way to show-your-jubilation/console-your-disappointment than playing music. Again, we will start around 7pm, with hopefully a post-game reinforcement showing up around 9pm.

Finally, a note to the future: We are tentatively planning our second event of the summer for 6 August, 2006. Again it will be a fund raising ceremony with all monies collected going directly to aid Bicak and Ngunut, two hamlets hit hard by the Yogyakarta earthquake (see www.kalimantancreations.co.uk/events/2006summer.html for more details). Please arrive when you can, watch, listen, and, c'mon, join us in music, song, and dance!

Warmest blessings,

Sekar Gedhogan