British citizens Anne Hunt, Alec Roth and Neil Sorrell have received awards from the Indonesian government for promoting gamelan in the United Kingdom.

The awards were given by Director General of Culture Hilmar Farid and London Indonesian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Rizal Sukma, on Sunday during the 2017 International Gamelan Festival (IGF) in London.

Hilmar said the awards were given to the three in the UK as an appreciation for their efforts in promoting the traditional Javanese musical instrument.

Hunt was awarded for taking musicians and Javanese dancers on tour across the UK and Europe, carrying the gamelan in the back of a van.

Meanwhile, Roth was given the award for his efforts in creating gamelan music programs, workshops and night courses.

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The UK-based composer is also the founder/director of the Royal Festival Hall Gamelan Program and Southbank Gamelan Players.

Ethnomusicologist Sorrell is a lecturer at the University of York. It took him eight years to convince the university to purchase a gamelan set. He is also involved in various gamelan activities, such as the Durham Oriental Music Festival and the English Gamelan Orchestra.

In addition to his music activities, Sorrell also writes books and articles about the gamelan.

The recipients of the award will be invited to attend the International Gamelan Festival in Surakarta, Central Java, next year.

Hunt told Antara news agency that she felt honored and did not expect that she would receive an award for her efforts in promoting gamelan in the UK.

She also expressed her hope to return to Indonesia. (jes/kes)