PURNAMASARI

ABOUT THE BAND

Purnamasari, led by Indonesian American, 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, Steve Lew, Keenan Pepper, Ion Nami Murata, Julia Martin, and Dillon Ingram. Purnamasari means ‘Essence of the Full Moon. The band performed at the San Francisco International Arts Festival 2021, and the concert was also sponsored in part by grants from the Sam Mazza Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, and marked the release of Purnamasari’s concept album entitled Le Gong, available online at purnamasarimusic.bandcamp.com
Purnamasari has performed at the Ann Pitzer Center in UC Davis, on the eve of LUCE Foundation’s conference “Rethinking the History of Indonesian Music. On May 12, 2024 Purnamasari released their album Amazeum with a concert at Mission Cultural Center, sharing the bill with Gamelan Sekar Jaya, as part of San Francisco International Arts Festival.

Album track preview of Ergens En Nergens 2021

Live! at Diggydog Studio Oakland March 2023

Live! at SFIAF June 11, 2023 Brava Theater

Live! at UC Davis 2022

Click below to find out more about the
INDONESIAN AMERICAN CROSS CULTURAL MUSIC PROJECT

Excerpt from Purnamasari live concert at Ashkenaz April 2017

Purnamasari album Le Gong is also on:

Spotify

YouTube

Pandora

Apple Music

Meet our musicians:

Paul Miller

Paul Miller is a member of SF Bay Area gamelan groups Gamelan Sekar Jaya, Gadung Kasturi, Sari Raras, and Shadowlight Productions. He received a B.A. in music from Brandeis University, was introduced to gamelan at Mills College, and spent several years in Indonesia, learning Balinese gamelan with the late Wayang Loceng and other master musicians. He specializes in Gender Wayang music; several of his students have gone on to study with masters in Bali. Paul arranges the gamelan parts for Purnamasari and plays various gamelan instruments in the group.

Lisa Graciano

Lisa Graciano is a singer, songwriter and guitar player with extensive experience in performing live. She grew up in 3 South East Asian cities, and immigrated to the Netherlands with her mother when she was 22 years old. She spent some of her formative years in the alternative music scene of Manila, before moving to Amsterdam where she played the European folk, jazz and blues music circuit and recorded two albums. Her third album ‘Seeds Of Life’ was released in 2013. She now lives in Oakland, and leads the gamelan-infused band Purnamasari. Lisa had basic formal training in classical music in Singapore, studied basic Balinese dance in Jakarta, and being involved with SF Bay Area groups like Gamelan Sekar Jaya has deepened her knowledge of Indonesian gamelan music and dance, and inspired her compositions for Purnamasari.

Megan Hewitt

Megan Robin Hewitt PhD is an Oakland-based musician, documentary filmmaker, Indonesian/Malay translator, and Executive Director of the non-profit American Institute for Indonesian Studies (AIFIS). She first learned Balinese gamelan at Florida State University, which became part of her impetus to pursue a graduate degree in Indonesian Studies at UC Berkeley. Her research on Indonesian literature, performing arts and contemporary social movements led to her involvement with the community of Indonesian artists and musicians in the Bay Area. Megan joined Gamelan Sekar Jaya and later Purnamasari, and is thrilled to perform among a thriving community working to bring Indonesian arts into the contemporary music scene in the Bay Area. Megan and her partner Garna Raditya, create music as the indie rock duo Antaralain. Antaralain translates to AmongOthers, the name of their video production and translation agency that creates short video documentaries, often with an emphasis on cross cultural Indonesian American connections. Megan plays gamelan instruments and sings harmony with Purnamasari.

Steve Lew

Dr. Steve Lew holds a PhD in spiders and has performed, recorded, and/or toured with a few combos over the last 40 years, including Gamelan Sekar Jaya, Dan Plonsey's New Zombies, Moe! Staiano, The Fuxedos, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Casino Royale, The Billy Nayer Show, Eskimo, and Slack.

Ion Nami Murata

Julia Martin

Keenan Pepper

Keenan Pepper is a software engineer and is currently an independent researcher studying basic concepts related to existential risk from future advanced artificial intelligence systems. He is funded by a grant from Foresight Institute. Keenan has been practicing Balinese gamelan for 14 years, with such ensembles as Gamelan Sekar Jaya, Gadung Kasturi, and Gamelan X. Keenan is also an apprentice tuner of both bronze and bamboo gamelan instruments and participated in Wayne Vitale's 2019 Gamelan Tuning Workshop. Other musical pursuits include studying theory of novel musical tunings in online forums such as Xenharmonic Alliance, and playing bass in the psych rock / shoegaze band Silk Mother.

Dillon Ingram

Dillon Ingram is a Bay Area based multi instrumentalist and brass/woodwind instrument repairperson. Over the last 14 years they’ve previously played in a number of bands including Poplyfe, The Jazzschool Studio Band Jazz Orchestra, Snipe Hunters Jazz Trio, Duru’s Afrofunk, CK Ladzekpos Ghanaian ensemble Pellejo Seco, Sentimiento y Manana and is currently a member of Purnamasari and the Gamelan Sekar Jaya music and dance ensembles. What Dillon loves most about music is its impact for healing by bringing people together and its inspiring creativity and new growth and experiences.

AMAZEUM

AVAILABLE NOW!

at

purnamasarimusic.bandcamp.com

SOME MUSICIANS WHO HAVE PERFORMED IN PURNAMASARI

Richard Phillips
Patrick Liddell
Barbara Golden
Mel Grover
Emily K Rolph
Monali Varaiya
Made Putrayasa
Ed Garcia
Maurissa Dorn
Zach Hejny
Danny Martin
Mike Toth
John Foster
Kris Jones
Rick Auerbach
John Waller
Reiko Hasegawa