Sadra, I Wayan

significant Indonesian composer, performer, and writer on music; b. Denpasar, Bali, Aug. 1, 1953. Sadra attended Konservatori Karawitan, where he specialized in traditional Balinese music, particularly gender wayang (music for the Balinese shadow play). He graduated in 1972. In 1973-74 he worked with the well-known experimental Indonesian choreographer Sardono W. Kusumo.

After touring with his group in Europe and the Middle East, Sadra settled in Jakarta, where he studied painting. He taught Balinese GAMELAN at Institute Kesenian Jakarta from 1975 to 1978, and at the Indonesian University from 1978 to 1980. Beginning in 1983, he taught experimental composition, Balinese gamelan, and music criticism at Sekolah Tinggi Seni Indonesia Surakarta, where he earned a degree in composition in 1988. He concurrently wrote new-music criticism for various Indonesian newspapers, including Suara Karya and Bali Post.

Sadra appeared widely as a performer with traditional Indonesian ensembles. In 1988 he was keynote speaker at the national Pekan Komponis (Composers' Festival) in Jakarta, and in 1989, he appeared in California at the Pacific Rim Festival. In 1990 he was a featured participant at Composer-to-Composer in Telluride, Colorado.

Along with the development of Indonesia's national identity has come an increase of national new-music festivals, increased interaction among artists from different regions, and a greater degree of individual freedom to create autonomous music, all of which have contributed to the emergence of a distinct Indonesian contemporary art music. Sadra is one of the outstanding young composers to emerge from this period, and his works have contributed much to the development of musik kontemporer, komposisi, and kreasi baru (new creations). He is also concerned with the social context of performance, considering audience development as important as the development of new works.

Sadra's compositions are often scored for unusual combinations of instruments. In an experimental piece performed at the Telluride Institute, raw eggs were thrown at a heated black panel; as the eggs cooked and sizzled, they provided both a visual and sonic element for the closing of the piece. He also proposed to the mayor of Solo, Central Java, a new work entitled Sebuah Kota Yang Bermain Musik (A city that plays music), wherein the entire population of the city would make sounds together for a specified five minutes. The proposal was not accepted, but Sadra hopes for its realization in the future.