Production Details

As newly independent Indonesia struggles to shed its colonial past as the Dutch East Indies, a Balinese family is torn by conflict, and a teenage girl in Sulawesi runs away from her family to join a rebellion. Their stories come together in ‘The Weaver’ featuring songs, instrumental music, and narration created by Indonesian born singer-songwriter Lisa Graciano and performed by the Bay Area group Purnamasari. The Weaver explores diaspora and multicultural identity in the context of stories, based on family history, told through Purnamasari’s songs and compositions, integrating Indonesian gamelan instruments within a guitar band format. The concert will also mark the release of Purnamasari's new album entitled LE GONG, now available online at purnamasarimusic.bandcamp.com

Purnamasari, led by Indonesian born, SF Bay Area singer-songwriter Lisa Graciano, integrates Indonesian gamelan instruments and ideas into original yet accessible guitar-based songs and compositions. Purnamasari features performers experienced in both gamelan and western music, mixing and extending traditional techniques. They create a unique musical fusion, using a variety of gamelan instruments and tuning systems, mixed with western instruments tuned to a pitch allowing interaction with the gamelan. Purnamasari grew out of the Indonesian American Cross Cultural Music Project, a collaboration between Lisa and gamelan player Paul Miller, and includes musicians Megan Hewitt, Patrick Liddell, and Richard Phillips.

Artist Biographies

Lisa Graciano (composer, vocals, guitar, narration)
Lisa Graciano had classical music training in Singapore, fronted rock bands in Manila, studied Balinese dances in Jakarta, joined Amsterdam’s folk and blues circuit, and was featured on KCSN radio, Mz Dee's Medicine Show, Voice of America’s "Dunia Kita” and KPFA's Music of the World. Lisa recently took part in QuaranPalooza Livestream Music Fest, and played the characters of Aissa and the Old Woman in By Mouth’s podplay of Joseph Conrad’s Outcast of the Islands.

Paul Miller (gamelan instruments and arrangements)
Paul Miller received a B.A. in music from Brandeis University, was introduced to gamelan at Mills College, studied with Wayang Loceng and other master musicians in Indonesia, and performs with Bay Area gamelan groups Gadung Kasturi, Sari Raras, Gamelan Sekar Jaya, and Shadowlight Productions, specializing in Gender Wayang music.

Patrick Liddell (bass guitar)
Patrick Liddell is a musician living in Oakland, CA. His solo music project, ontologist, has released five albums to date, including the most recent, a double vinyl release in June of 2021. He plays with Sari Raras, the Javanese gamelan ensemble at UC Berkeley and with Gamelan Encinal, the New American gamelan at Mills College. He plays trombone in the soul/funk cover outfit Steady Eddy And The Shakers, plays jazz piano for cafés in Oakland and SF, and teaches concert and jazz band to high schoolers in Dublin, CA. He's the bass player in Punamasari.

Megan Robin Hewitt (gamelan instruments)
Megan Robin Hewitt PhD is an Oakland-based musician, Indonesian/Malay translator, documentary filmmaker, and the Executive Director of the American Institute for Indonesian Studies (AIFIS), a non-profit which promotes research collaboration in Indonesian Studies. Her research on Indonesian literature, performance arts, and contemporary social movements in Indonesia led to her involvement with the greater community of Indonesian artists and musicians in the Bay Area, where she joined Purnamasari and Gamelan Sekar Jaya at the start of 2019. Megan and her partner, Garna Raditya, also create music as an indie rock duo called, Antaralain.

Richard H. Phillips (electric guitar)
Richard H. Phillips is a multi-instrumentalist musician, and the songwriter, guitarist and vocalist for Golden Path, an SF Bay Area indie rock band. He performs as half of a duet with musician and composer Barbara Golden, and plays Balinese gamelan music with Gamelan Sekar Jaya and Gadung Kasturi.

Julia Martin
drummer

Keenan Pepper, Ion Nami Murata
gamelan instruments