Composer I Wayan Yudane has garnered a reputation for
his breathtakingly diverse music, cutting across Balinese
gamelan, western string ensembles, electro-acoustic
performances, choir, film, art installation and theatre. He has created pieces for ensembles as diverse as: the New
Zealand Trio; New Zealand String Quartet; Australian Art
Orchestra and ‘Theft of Sita’; ZOFO San Francisco,
California; Momenta Quartet NY; Aaron Copland School of
Music Queens College Percussion Ensemble New York;
gamelan ensembles such as Gamelan Wrdhi Swaram and
many more. His compositions embrace an open exploration
of new ideas, crossing musical and cultural boundaries and
referencing both eastern and western traditions. In his compositions, often characterized as fast moving, sweeping
soundscapes, he continually experiments and explores
creative processes of new music.
Born in Denpasar, Yudane grew up in a musical family. He
has composed, performed and taught for many years in
Indonesia, Europe and New Zealand. In Europe, he worked
with the Temps Fort Theatre from France and Cara Bali
Group in Munich as well as completing commissions for La
Batie Festival.
In Australia, he collaborated with Australian composer Paul
Grabowsky on the score for ‘Theft of Sita’ production which
travelled internationally for over 5 years to rave reviews and
received the Melbourne Age Critics Award for Creative
Excellence and the Helpmann Award for Best original score.
After marrying his kiwi wife, Robyn Wellwood, Yudane
moved to New Zealand. He received the 2002 Artist-in-
Residence at the New Zealand School of Music, supported
by the Ford Foundation and this became a prolific and
exciting time artistically for him. Yudane met and became
great friends with New Zealand composer and
ethnomusicologist, Jack Body, who inspired Yudane over
the next decades as they collaborated and worked together
on many new projects such as “Paradise Regained’ and
‘House in Bali’. In collaboration with Gareth Farr, he
composed and performed the music for the acclaimed 2007
Capital E production of Spinning Mountain.
During his time in New Zealand, Yudane codirected
the New Zealand Balinese ensemble, Gamelan Taniwha Jaya and taught gamelan and composition at the New Zealand School of Music. He composed a number of pieces for both Taniwha Jaya and Gamelan Padhang Moncar, including his
final concert titled Musical Hunters and Collectors. He travelled widely, receiving the IMEB artist in residence in Bourge, France in 2004 and touring widely with different groups including the New Zealand Trio. Recordings of Yudane’s works includes: ‘Laughing Water’; ‘Sita’; ‘Terra-Incognita’; ‘Arak’; ‘flourish’; ‘House in Bali’; Water.
Since returning to his homeland in Bali, Yudane has become one of the most visible voices in new music for gamelan in Bali, working to create the Triple2 project, showcasing new music for gamelan. Yudane explains, “The focus of our
concerts is on new music for gamelan which steps into structures of music that are linear and asymmetrical, rather than cyclical. As composers, we present our own ideas which can at times be based on traditional Balinese gamelan and at times based on Western traditions of music”.
