Overview
Nicole Reisnour is a PhD candidate in ethnomusicology with a minor concentration in socio-cultural anthropology. Her dissertation, Sounding the Immaterial: Ethics, Mediation, and the Politics of Religion in Post-Authoritarian Bali, explores the efforts of contemporary Balinese Hindus to live ethically amidst competing ideals of devout Hindu selfhood. Focusing on the mediatory practices that bind Balinese Hindus to invisible beings, and on state-sponsored efforts to reconfigure the ethical dimensions of these practices, this research reveals how locally meaningful ways of making and experiencing sound give shape to ethical life and sheds light on the complex interrelations between mediatory practices, forms of self-understanding, and structures of power. This project has been supported by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research and the American Institute for Indonesian Studies.
Nicole holds degrees from Mills College (M.A. Composition, 2007) and Bard College (B.A. Music, 2003), where she studied composition with Kyle Gann, Annie Gosfield, and Alvin Curran. She has been performing Balinese music since 2000, during which time she has had the privilege of working with many master Balinese musicians and dancers, including I Gusti Nyoman Darta, Ida Ayu Ketut Suciawani (alm.), I Wayan Suweca, I Made Terip, and I Nyoman Windha. As a member of Gamelan Dharma Swara (2009-2012) and Gamelan Sekar Jaya (2004-2008), she has performed on numerous concert series and festivals in the U.S. and Bali, such as Wordless Music, MoMA Nights, Performa, Cal Performances, and the Festival Gong Kebyar.