Group History
Rachel Hand and Larry Catungal first met in September 2001 when they both started their degrees in music at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. Rachel and Larry met Manuel Jimenez, already a student at SOAS, as a result of his omnipresence in the majority of the music performance groups - Rachel through gamelan and Chinese silk-and-bamboo classes, and Larry through Zimbabwean mbira classes. In 2002 Paphutsorn 'Koong' Wongratanapitak came to London to teach Thai clssical music and to study at SOAS. Rachel, Larry, Manuel and Koong were all students reading music at SOAS and took the 'Music Cultures of Southeast Asia' course together. Rachel and Larry were in their second year of undergraduate study, whilst Manuel and Koong were postgraduate students.

It was in the academic year of 2002-3 when they all began to play Thai classical music together as a group. Under the watchful eyes of Koong, the teacher of Thai classical music whose specialties were in the bowed string instruments, Rachel took up the renaat ek and Larry the khong wong yai. Meanwhile, Manuel continued to improve his jakay playing and drumming. In Larry's third and final year of reading music, he decided to further his playing of the khong wong yai by taking lessons from Koong for a performance unit towards his degree.

Manuel had played gamelan for many years, and Rachel had participated in the gamelan classes at SOAS since her first year. On the other hand, Koong and Larry had less experience. Rachel decided in her second year to learn to play the gender and, at the same time, Koong began to learn the rebab. Both learnt with Helen Evans, and still continue to have lessons with Helen to this day. Larry began to participate in gamelan classes in his third year. As a result of Koong and Rachel learning together, Manuel would join them playing kendhangan, with Larry on the slenthem and gong.

In 2005 Ian Anderson came to SOAS to study music already with a background in Javanese gamelan. He continued to play gamelan and started to learn the rebab. He also joined the Thai music class and learnt the sor u. As a result of this he met all the SEAmusic members and began to attend rehearsals and join the group for performances.

Past Performances
The group has played for the Thai Crown Princess HRH Maha Chakri Sirindhon, and for the UK HRH The Princess Royal. We have also performed as part of London Open Garden Squares Weekend for the past four years, and at various private receptions and ceremonies. See the Events page for a complete list.

Larry Catungal
Larry graduated from SOAS with a BA (Hons) in Music in 2004, where an academic approach to kulintang formed part of his course. He is studying for an MMus in Ethnomusicology at SOAS, majoring in the traditional gong chime music of the southern Philippines and learning Thai language as his minor. He has worked for Newham Music Services, and is currently a piano teacher at The London Oratory School. He also sings tenor with the Colla Voce Singers and directs his local parish choir. Larry is a skilled player of the Thai khong wong gong circle and also plays ranat thum. He has recently started to learn the Javanese rebab (September 2006) with Helen Evans, and kulintang music with Professor Agamayo Butocan, lecturer in Kulintang at The University of the Philippines, UP (August 2006). Both his parents are native Filipinos from the northern Philippine island of Luzon. He has been to the Philippines many times and is currently learning Tagalog, the national language of the Philippines.

Rachel Hand
After studying for her BA in music at SOAS, Rachel went on to achieve a Distinction in MMus Ethnomusicology, focussing on South-East Asian music. Rachel has played Javanese gamelan since 2001 and regularly travels to Indonesia to further her studies. She has played Thai music (ranaat ek) since 2002 and started learning kulintang when the SEAmusic instruments arrived in the UK. In London Rachel works as a musician and teacher of flute and saxophone.

Manuel Jimenez
Manuel Jimenez has many years' experience as a performer of South-East Asian music, especially Javanese and Balinese gamelan, which he performs as part of the South Bank Gamelan Players and Lilacita respectively. He has an MMus in Ethnomusicology from SOAS, where he is currently working on his PhD.

Paphutsorn Wongratanapitak (Koong)
Koong has learnt Thai classical music since she was 7 year old from the Royal Palace "Baan Plaai Nern" in Bangkok. She graduated BMus in Thai classical music with the second honor from Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. She's got a scholarship from SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London) to do MMus and PhD in exchange of teaching Thai music. She is currently a PhD student.

She also teaches Thai classical music at the Thai Music Circle in the UK, The Royal Thai Embassy. She has performed for many Music Festivals in many countries for example in Lahore Pakistan, Edinburgh Scotland, Swansea Wales and Whitby England. She has extensive experience in teaching Thai music, especially in group workshops for children and adults. She used to teach Thai Music in Los Angeles and Norway.

She wrote article "Foreigners play Thai Music" for the International Council for Traditional Music Conference in August 2005 in Sheffield, UK. Her next article "The Globalization, Westernization and Modernization in Thai Music culture" will be finished soon.

She worked as a co-producer of the Thai Classical Music CDs played by members of the Thai Music Circle in the UK, which was released in July 2004.

While studying for her MMus in 2002, she began learning Javanese music, and plays the rebab.

Ian Anderson
His first experience of live gamelan in Bali during a Christmas vacation in 2003 came as a revelation to Ian who up until then had been pursuing a promising career as a double bass player and teacher. He subsequently began intermittent studies in Javanese gamelan, taking part in classes in both Yorkshire and Lincolnshire until he was finally compelled to abandon his local authority teaching in Yorkshire to devote himself to more structured studies at The School of Oriental and African Studies where he continues to pursue his passion for South-East Asian music. He studies the Javanese rebab with Helen Evans and the Thai Sor uu with Paphutsorn Wongratanapitak. In Easter 2006 Ian spent a month in Indonesia, studying and performing Javanese and Balinese gamelan with local musicians.

Jens Franz
awaiting biography