Amy Knoles (Music BFA 82) sends us an update: “Last January I went to Jakarta to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Sacred Rhythm Festival. I was a participant in the original UNESCO-sanctioned festival, which, at that time, featured more than 1,000 percussionists in the lineup. This January the Sacred Rhythm: Reborn Unison (SRRU) was a more intimate event, taking the theme ‘Recognizing Rhythm’ and the tagline ‘Bridging Art-Science-Conscience,’ coordinated by Ginastera ‘Boo-Boo’ Sianturi, son of the recently passed Serrano Sianturi (visionary and creator of the Sacred Bridge Foundation), and visual artist Bintang Perkasa. This time around, HASOM Faculty Houman Pourmehdi and Joel Virgel-Vierset came with. Together we are the trio known as FLOOD. We spent a week working with ‘Rhythm Salad Workshop’ participants, collaborating on a piece that had Persian influences, analog drum machines, Balinese Gamelan (led by Komang Astita), melodica, electric guitars, voice, and more. The trio performed a set as well as Acehnese Canang 7 Atjeh Ensemble, Betawi’s gambang kromong troupe Kinang Putra, and DJ Leno Rei. ‘Rhythm Salad’ ended the festival. It was life-changing!”