Zachary Hejny is a California-born composer and performer of experimental music residing in Indonesia. His work explores polytemporality, incidental tuning systems, ecological sound structures, and philosophies of noise. Current projects include electro-acoustic instrument building using recycled materials, an environmental sound map, a metronome app practice aid for Balinese kendang tunggal, and various music for visual media. He received a DMA in composition from UC Santa Cruz (2021) and currently works as a guest researcher at IKIP Saraswati Tabanan.
Zachary participates in various contemporary music scenes on Bali, primarily as an avid student of gender wayang, gamelan composer, and performing sound artist. Previous involvement with Balinese music includes a Darmasiswa cultural immersion scholarship (2012), a master's degree from ISI Denpasar (2015), numerous festival commissions (including the Bali Arts Festival in 2017), and a Fulbright Student Research grant (2023). He also volunteers as Assistant Director and board member for Insitu Recordings, where he helps edit a digital magazine, maintain an archive of historical gamelan recordings, and document creative work by emerging Balinese composers.
Email: zachary.hejny@gmail.com
Latest Composition:
Commissioned and performed by Selonding Bali Aga
Recorded at Pura Dalem Sibetan, 16 January 2024