Buffalo Gamelan Club is looking for a home. BRO first featured Buffalo’s fledgling gamelan scene in 2015, when gamelan enthusiast Matt Dunning was attempting to ship a wide array of instruments that he was in possession of from Indonesia to Buffalo. Since that time, via a few crafty fundraisers (including the Wacky AlleyCat Bike Race), the gamelan instruments (gongs, sarons, etc.) have arrived in Buffalo, and Matt has been hosting a series of demonstrations and classes ever since. This is a pretty big deal for the Buffalo music scene, which is becoming more diverse through these types of grassroots initiatives.
While Matt may have succeeded at getting the cumbersome gamelan instruments shipped to Buffalo, he is still in need of a place to store them. Since he has only just begun to host classes (see here for example), the funds aren’t exactly flowing in, but participants are beginning to catch on to the traditional Indonesian music movement, and Matt feels that there is a bright future for gamelan in Buffalo.
Being a new organization and totally donation based we can’t afford to pay market rate for space now.
At this juncture, Matt is hoping to procure between 800 to 1000 square feet of space, with safe conditions for people to play. Since practices are held mainly two nights a week, there would also have to be access to a bathroom. Matt is able to afford a very basic, cheap rent to start, although what that amount is would have to be negotiated. “Being a new organization and totally donation based we can’t afford to pay market rate for space now,” he told me. “But we are hoping to grow our club as we go and with the right spot that will definitely be possible.”
The best fit for Matt would be to share a space with others that are like-minded and who are tapping into similar opportunities. The space could be at a school, or a music facility, or a cooperative, or a heated warehouse that is currently underutilized. If Matt can find the appropriate location for his ethereal gamelan instruments, it would be great news for Buffalo, because these are the types of undertakings that make cities culturally rich.
If you are aware of a space that would be suitable for a musical art form such as this, please contact mdunning@campuswheelworks.com. You can learn more about Matt and his desire to build a thriving gamelan scene in Buffalo by clicking on this Facebook page.
The hard part of transporting the instruments is over. Now Matt must find a space that will allow him to fully realize his gamelan ambitions.