Peni Candra Rini: Wulansih

Monday, September 16, 20248:00 pm

Renowned Indonesian composer and performer Peni Candra Rini—described by David Harrington of Kronos Quartet as “one of the world’s greatest singers”—presents a concert of new music from Java featuring selections from her album Wulansih released July 12th, 2024 on New Amsterdam Records. Rini is a master of several traditional forms and is regarded as one of Indonesia’s most daring young composers, one of only a handful of female composers in the majority Muslim nation. She will be supported by Shahzad Ismaily, Andy McGraw, Curt Sydnor and other guests presenting new arrangements of her compositions on Wulansih, as well as her recent work commissioned by the Kronos Quartet and Carnegie Hall. The performance will also include selections of innovative Javanese shadow theater.

From New Amsterdam Records:
Wulansih is a small encyclopedia of Indonesian music. Rini explains: “The album mixes a wide range of materials, including traditional Javanese gamelan singing, Balinese chant, stringband music of the 1960s, and intercultural improvisations, bringing them all together through my contemporary compositional approach. We created experimental ensembles, and even experimental instruments and tunings to create an album that, whatever you think of it, sounds like nothing else.” 

Peni Candra Rini vocals
Shahzad Ismaily multi-instrumentalist
Andy McGraw multi-instrumentalist
Curt Sydnor keyboards

Members of NYC’s Gamelan Kusuma Laras will also join in the concert.

A livestream will be available free of charge at 8pm on the day of the performance and archived for future viewing. Watch below or on YouTube.


Peni Candra Rini, PhD (b. 1983) is a renowned Javanese singer, composer, and faculty member at the Indonesian Institute of the Arts described by Kronos Quartet as “one of the world’s greatest singers.” She is a master of several traditional forms and is regarded as one of Indonesia’s most daring young composers, one of only a handful of female composers in the majority Muslim nation. She has performed extensively internationally, including several world tours as the featured singer for Robert Wilson’s I La Galigo. She is a recipient of grants from the Asian Cultural Council, is a two-time grantee of the US State Department’s One Beat and Fulbright programs, and in 2022 was named an Aga Khan Foundation laureate of the arts. In 2023 she became the first woman to be commissioned to compose a work for the Mangkunegaran court of Central Java and in 2024 was bestowed court the name Raden Nganten Tumenggung, the highest honor offered by the Raja. In 2024 she completed a suite for string quartet commissioned by the Kronos Quartet and Carnegie Hall. Entitled Segara Gunung, the thirty-minute work concerns the impacts of climate change on the Indonesian archipelago, and has been performed by Kronos on major stages throughout the US and Europe.

Peni Candra Rini at Roulette (audio)

Peni Candra Rini: Wulansih

Monday, September 16, 20248:00 pm

Renowned Indonesian composer and performer Peni Candra Rini—described by David Harrington of Kronos Quartet as “one of the world’s greatest singers”—presents a concert of new music from Java featuring selections from her album Wulansih released July 12th, 2024 on New Amsterdam Records. Rini is a master of several traditional forms and is regarded as one of Indonesia’s most daring young composers, one of only a handful of female composers in the majority Muslim nation. She will be supported by Shahzad Ismaily, Andy McGraw, Curt Sydnor and other guests presenting new arrangements of her compositions on Wulansih, as well as her recent work commissioned by the Kronos Quartet and Carnegie Hall. The performance will also include selections of innovative Javanese shadow theater.

From New Amsterdam Records:
Wulansih is a small encyclopedia of Indonesian music. Rini explains: “The album mixes a wide range of materials, including traditional Javanese gamelan singing, Balinese chant, stringband music of the 1960s, and intercultural improvisations, bringing them all together through my contemporary compositional approach. We created experimental ensembles, and even experimental instruments and tunings to create an album that, whatever you think of it, sounds like nothing else.” 

Peni Candra Rini vocals
Shahzad Ismaily multi-instrumentalist
Andy McGraw multi-instrumentalist
Curt Sydnor keyboards

Members of NYC’s Gamelan Kusuma Laras will also join in the concert.

A livestream will be available free of charge at 8pm on the day of the performance and archived for future viewing. Watch below or on YouTube.


Peni Candra Rini, PhD (b. 1983) is a renowned Javanese singer, composer, and faculty member at the Indonesian Institute of the Arts described by Kronos Quartet as “one of the world’s greatest singers.” She is a master of several traditional forms and is regarded as one of Indonesia’s most daring young composers, one of only a handful of female composers in the majority Muslim nation. She has performed extensively internationally, including several world tours as the featured singer for Robert Wilson’s I La Galigo. She is a recipient of grants from the Asian Cultural Council, is a two-time grantee of the US State Department’s One Beat and Fulbright programs, and in 2022 was named an Aga Khan Foundation laureate of the arts. In 2023 she became the first woman to be commissioned to compose a work for the Mangkunegaran court of Central Java and in 2024 was bestowed court the name Raden Nganten Tumenggung, the highest honor offered by the Raja. In 2024 she completed a suite for string quartet commissioned by the Kronos Quartet and Carnegie Hall. Entitled Segara Gunung, the thirty-minute work concerns the impacts of climate change on the Indonesian archipelago, and has been performed by Kronos on major stages throughout the US and Europe.

Peni Candra Rini at Roulette (audio)