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Karen Cardy explores a way of building teamwork by entering the sound world of the Balinese gamelan.

Corporate Gamelan session. Photo: Karen Cardy

We all know how important teamwork is, whatever our line of business. As the world evolves rapidly around us, we’re looking for original and effective ways to work together. At London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) St Luke’s we’ve created an extraordinary experience to inspire teams with our very own gamelan. Our ‘Inspiring Teams’ experience teaches people to work together, whatever their professional background. Whether they are musical or not matters little. By the end of our gamelan experience, each and every person will have performed together to the very best of their ability (and beyond!). The results are truly astonishing.

Our experience combines in-depth business understanding with musical expertise. To begin with, we invite participants to debate relevant challenges, benefits and objectives of teamwork in an informal, interactive setting, led by energising and catalytic facilitator, Amanda Manor. We then step carefully into the fast and dynamic world of Balinese gamelan music, where the concepts of teamwork come to life as everyone learns how to play the different instruments under the outstanding tuition of one of the UK’s leading gamelan experts, Andy Channing. ‘Inspiring Teams’ gamelan experiences cater for groups of 15 to 30 people, and the proceeds from the workshops go to supporting the education work of the London Symphony Orchestra, through LSO Discovery based at LSO St Luke’s, the UBS and LSO Music Education Centre.

So what is a gamelan? Unlike the Western orchestra, in which percussion instruments often play a supportive role, the Balinese gamelan orchestra consists almost entirely of tuned bronze gongs and metallophones. These produce a fast and dynamic music characterised by intricate, interlocking melodic and rhythmic patterns punctuated by sonorous gongs. Our facilitators, Amanda Manor and Andy Channing, draw on the wealth of their respective experiences to inspire teams to work as one.

Amanda, founder and director of Amanda Manor Originations Ltd, has strategic experience that spans over 20 years, working with companies like BP, De Beers, Disney, PWC, and UBS. Andy studied gamelan at the Indonesian Academy of Performing Arts and the South Bank Centre, and has taught and performed gamelan throughout the UK and abroad.

We asked participants what teamwork challenges they have overcome through experiencing the gamelan. Responses included: “Contribution from all – listening to others and not just focusing on your part”; “Realising there are different types of team within a bigger team”; “Listening and knowing where your part fits”; “Doing my part, not to let the team down”; “Everyone starting something new together” and “Energising. Something I wouldn’t ordinarily do”.

Karen Cardy is Marketing and LSO St Luke’s Centre Director.
w: http://www.lso.co.uk/teambuilding.
For more about gamelan packages, contact Ranjana Ghatak.
t: 020 7382 2539;
e: ranjana.ghatak@lso.co.uk