Rahayu Supanggah is one of a small number of Indonesian musicians and composers with an international reputation. He has written hundreds of compositions and collaborated with hundreds of world famous artists and directors in the fields of music, film, theatre and dance.
Born in Boyolali, Central Java, in 1949, into a family of traditional puppet artists, or dalang, Supanggah was inadvertently conditioned in Javanese art and culture from an early age. He began his formal art training at Konservtori Karawitan Indonesia (KOKAR), and continued studying at ASKI (now ISI) Surakarta. In 1985, he completed his PhD in Ethnomusicology at Université de Paris VII, France.
During his first year at KOKAR (in 1965), Supanggah was chosen to represent Indonesia on a presidential arts mission to China, North Korea, and Japan. This event influenced the course of his life quite significantly. From that time on, he began to study seriously, with an aim to making art, specifically karawitan, his profession. Although he is a maestro of traditional karawitan, Supanggah is also considered one of the main pioneers of Indonesian contemporary music. He continually carries out new explorations and musical experiments, creating new musical instruments and new musical genres.
As an artist, Supanggah is active as a performer, composer, musical director, and group leader. He has written numerous books and articles on art and culture, is frequently involved in various research projects, often invited to present papers at various art forums, and has been a member or director of several art committees for festivals both in Indonesia and abroad.
In his work, Supanggah has collaborated with many well-known artists from all over the world, including Warner Kaegi, Peter Brook, Robert Wilson, Sergio Leone, Rhoda Grauer, Alec Roth, Neil Sorrell, Alain Recoing, Vincent McDermott, Barbara Benary, Jody Diamond, Phillip Corner, Toshi Tsuchitori, Katsura Kan, Ong Ken Sen, Ramli Ibrahim, Denisa Reyes, André Gringas, and many more.
His work in the arts has taken him around the world and his works have been performed in over 40 different countries.
While still a student, Supanggah was appointed Head of Karawitan Department at ASKI Surakarta, a position he held for over 10 years. Subsequently, he was appointed Assistant Director, in charge of academic affairs, Director of STSI Surakarta in 1997, and Director of the Postgraduate Program at STSI Surakarta in 2002.
He has also taught at a number of universities abroad, such as San Diego State University, Cambridge University, several schools in Canberra, Cité de la Musique Paris, and at a number of art institutions in the Netherlands, Switzerland, France, England, and America.
In 2006, he received a special award in recognition of his work in the field of culture, and in the same year won the award for best composer at the Three Continents Film Festival in Nantes, France, the Asian Film Festival in Hong Kong, and also won a Citra award from the Indonesian Film Festival.
Supanggah is now a professor in composition and ethnomusicology at ISI Surakarta and currently an associate artist at the South Bank Centre in London.
