PROJECT OVERVIEW
Indonesian singer/songwriter, instrument builder, and social activist Rizal Abdulhadi has taken the Southeast Asian and Australian music scene by a storm with his invented bamboo instruments, a tradition he brings from his village in West Java. Now, he joins
forces with artist Agustian Supriatna, cellist Algimiro Cesarino (Venezuela) and violinist Audrey Wozniak (USA) to further explore cross-cultural musical collaborations and expand the musical possibilities of bamboo.
They will design and build string quartet instruments from bamboo. They will use the instrument prototypes to record a new album that draws influence from folk, classical, reggae, traditional Indonesian, and other musical styles. They will use their designs
to create bamboo instruments to distribute to middle schools around Bali, and host bamboo instrument-building and songwriting workshops for the students.
Rizal, Algimiro, Agustian and Audrey come from different countries, cultures, backgrounds, and approaches toward music, but they are united as musicians and believe strongly in the power of collaboration. Their project seeks to promote sustainable and affordable
music education for all and strive for a more creative world.
"Using musical instruments we've created out of novel, reclaimed, and sustainable materials, we call upon our individual experiences as musicians. We unite musical styles ranging from reggae to classical music, and seek to inspire our audiences by
pushing the limits of what is possible as musicians, inventors, and mentors.
We imagine a future in which people harness their own creativity as artists and musicians. We aspire to a world in which all people, regardless of socioeconomic status, have access to music, instruments, and musical education."
WHO WE ARE
Rizal Abdulhadi
Rizal Abdulhadi is a uniquely talented multi-instrumentalist, folk singer, song writer, instrument builder and social activist from West Java Indonesia, dedicating his music to struggle for real change towards a more creative Indonesia and world. The Rasendriya
is a new instrument Rizal created from bamboo by combining guitar with didgeridoo and percussion; further exploring the use of bamboo for instruments, Rizal’s latest project is his Bamboo Lapsteel Guitar. Rizal brings a new style of folk music by combining
ballad, blues, rock, reggae with eclectic ethnic rhythms. He sings in both Indonesian and English languages about travel, adventure, spirit, democracy and opportunity.
Since 2008, Rizal has toured extensively in Indonesia and played at major Indonesian festivals, including Bamboo Nusantara World Music Festival, Braga Festival and Padi Nusantara Festival. Since late 2012 Rizal has made waves on the international music scene,
taking his musical and instrument building talents to Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia. He has twice toured Australia and was fortunate enough to collaborate with Andrew Clemoth at Woodford Folk Festival 2013/14.
In September 2014, Rizal was invited to be a guest speaker and performer to TEDx Ubud. The video of his performance was selected as a TED Talks Global Editor’s Pick and also featured as one of three “Weird and Wonderful TEDx Musical Performances” from TEDx
conferences internationally.
Audrey Wozniak
Audrey Wozniak started playing violin at the age of 6 after seeing internationally renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman perform on the children’s television show Sesame Street. Currently, Audrey is spending a year in China, Indonesia, Turkey, the Czech Republic,
and Hungary learning about multiculturalism in local music cultures as a Fellow of the Thomas J. Watson Foundation. During the fellowship she has studied various string instruments, including erhu, ghijak, and rebab, and traveled on tour with Yo-Yo Ma and
the Silk Road Ensemble.
Audrey graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Wellesley College, where she double majored in Music and East Asian Studies with a concentration in political science. She spent her sophomore year of high school studying abroad in Japan, and spent two summers in working
in China interning at the Beijing Bureau of ABC News and for the State Department at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou. She was also a Fellow in the 2013 Madeleine Korbel Albright Institute for Global Affairs at Wellesley. She is passionate about communication
and cultural exchange, and particularly interested in the intersections of media, censorship, democracy, and international relations.
Agustian Supriatna
Born in Sumatra and based in Bali, Agustian is multi-talented artist whose work has been exhibited around the world. Inspired by daily life, nature and spirituality, he works with many different media and frequently transforms discarded objects into works
of art. He is also an accomplished bamboo flutist, dancer, and percussionist, and collaborates with musicians and performers internationally.
Algimiro Cesarino
Cellist Algimiro Cesarino began his musical studies at the Conservatory Juan Manuel Olivares in Caracas, Venezuela, at the age of seven. He continued his studies at the Conservatory Simon Bolivar, and joined Symphony Orchestra of Nueva Esparta. He has performed
extensively internationally, including concerts with Musikschule der Stadt Linz in Austria and with Camerata Salzburg in Spain. Algimiro is currently based in Bali, where he studies traditional Indonesian music (karawitan). His has been colaborating
and performing around Indonesia with locals artist included concerts in Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Surakarta, and Bali. He combines his classical music training with his own lyrical style using a looper, creating haunting polyphonic melodies in solo performance.
In March 2015 Algimiro released his first solo album, That Tree, and will continue his concert tour in Australia later this year.
