BIO

Since forming in 2011, Gamelan Yowana Sari has been a performing Balinese Art Ensemble in residence at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, NYC. Under the direction of Michael Lipsey and Fred Trumpy, Yowana Sari have toured Bali multiple times, studying and performing under the master composer and musician I Dewa Ketut Alit in Pengosekan, Bali. In 2024, the group has commissioned new works from Michael Gordon and Evan Ziporyn, which were performed alongside compositions by Dewa Ketut Alit, Vivian Fung, and Kyle Miller at Bang on a Can’s Long Play Festival and MASS MoCA Summer Music Festival. Following these performances, GYS has returned to Bali to study and perform with Dewa Alit’s Gamelan Salukat, as well as to record their debut album.

The trajectory of the ensemble has been exciting. In addition to the Bang on a Can Festival, the group has performed on other major festivals in the US, including the Percussive Arts Society International Convention 2017 in Indiana, the River-to-River Festival, Make Music NY Festival, and the Asheville Percussion Festival. GYS have a long lasting relationship with Midori and Friends and Queens County’s CASA program (Cultural After School Adventures). The group works with public school students on team-building activities through gamelan-based percussion music. The music of a community, along with the teachers, allow the students to create music for cartoons and engage in other performance-related activities.

The group’s interest includes the rich traditions of Balinese compositions as well as contemporary works that involve electric guitar and bass. Our repertoire includes works by composers, such as Dewa Ketut Alit, Evan Ziporyn, Michael Gordon, Vivian Fung, Kyle Miller, Gusti Komin Darta, Glenn Kotche, Billy Martin, Dewa Ketut Alit, Steve Reich, Vivian Fung, Alida Torres, Chris Mulz and Pak Windha. The gamelan has had the pleasure of studying under I Dewa Ketut Alit, I Gusti Komin Darta, Ida Bagus Made Widnyana (Gusde), I Dewa Putu Rai and I Dewa Sakura.  

Photograph taken at Asheville Percussion Festival, June 2019