Ziporyn is known for his solo performances on clarinet and bass clarinet; additionally, he plays gender wayang and other Balinese instruments, saxophones, piano & keyboards, EWI, and Shona mbira. He is Faculty Director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Center for Art, Science & Technology, as well as Kenan Sahin Distinguished Professor of Music at MIT. There he directs Gamelan Galak Tika, an ensemble he founded in 1993, a group of 30 MIT students, staff and community members, devoted to the study and performance of new works for Balinese Gamelan.
In 1992 Ziporyn founded the Bang on a Can All-stars, with whom he performed and recorded until 2012. He also was a member of Steve Reich and Musicians, with whom he shared a 1998 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance. He is currently a member of the Eviyan Trio, with Czech violinist/vocalist Iva Bittovà and American guitarist Gyan Riley.
Ziporyn studied at Eastman, Yale & UC Berkeley with Joseph Schwantner, Martin Bresnick, & Gerard Grisey. He first traveled to Bali in 1981, studying with Madé Lebah, Colin McPhee's 1930s musical informant. He returned on a Fulbright in 1987.
Earlier that year, he performed a clarinet solo at the First Bang on a Can Marathon in New York. His involvement with BOAC continued for 25 years: in 1992 he co-founded the Bang on a Can All-stars (Musical America's 2005 Ensemble of the Year), with whom he toured the globe and premiered over 100 commissioned works, collaborating with Nik Bartsch, Iva Bittova, Don Byron, Ornette Coleman, Brian Eno, Philip Glass, Meredith Monk, Thurston Moore, Terry Riley and Tan Dun. He co-produced their seminal 1996 recording of Brian Eno's Music for Airports, as well as their 2012 Big Beautiful Dark & Scary (2012). He left the group in the fall of that year to form Eviyan with Iva Bittová and Gyan Riley, with whom he now concertizes and records regularly. In the fall of 2013 he founded the www.criticalband.org, a group devoted to the music of the late British composer Steve Martland.
Ziporyn joined the MIT faculty in 1990, founding Gamelan Galak Tika there in 1993, and beginning a series of groundbreaking compositions for gamelan & western instruments. These include three evening-length works, 2001's ShadowBang, 2004's Oedipus Rex at the American Repertory Theater (Robert Woodruff, director), and 2009's A House in Bali, an opera which joins western singers with Balinese traditional performers, and the All-stars with a full gamelan. It received its world premiere in Bali that summer and its New York premiere at BAM Next Wave in October 2010.
As a clarinetist, Ziporyn recorded the definitive version of Steve Reich's multi-clarinet New York Counterpoint in 1996, sharing in that ensemble's Grammy Award in 1998. In 2001 his solo clarinet CD, This is Not A Clarinet, made Top Ten lists across the country. His compositions have been commissioned by Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble, Kronos Quartet, American Composers Orchestra, Maya Beiser, So Percussion, Wu Man, and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, with whom he recorded two CDs, Frog's Eye (2006) and Big Grenadilla/Mumbai(2012). His honors include awards from the Massachusetts Cultural Council (2011), The Herb Alpert Foundation (2011), USA Artists Walker Fellowship (2007), MIT's Kepes Prize (2006), the American Academy of Arts and Letters Goddard Lieberson Fellowship (2004), as well as commissions from Meet the Composer/Commissioning Music USA and the Rockefeller MAP Fund. Recordings of his works have been released on Cantaloupe, Sony Classical, New Albion, New World, Koch, Naxos, Innova, and CRI.
He is Kenan Sahin Distinguished Professor of Music at MIT. He also serves as Inaugural Director of MIT's new Center for Art Science and Technology.
Eviyan LiveNovember 2013, Victo RecordsIva Bittova (violin/voice), Gyan Riley (guitar), Evan Ziporyn (clarinet/bass clarinet)Compositions and improvisations by Bittova, Riley, and Ziporyn
In My Mind and In My CarOctober 2013, Airplane Ears MusicClarinet / Bass Clarinet performed by Evan ZiporynElectronics and composition by Christine Southworth and Evan Ziporyn
Big Grenadilla / MumbaiApril 2012, Cantaloupe RecordsBig Grenadilla (Evan Ziporyn, bass clarinet)Mumbai (Sandeep Das, tabla)Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Gil Rose, conductor
Frog's EyeOctober 2006, Cantaloupe RecordsPerformed by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project.Frog's Eye, The Ornate Zither and the Nomad Flute (Anne Harley, soprano), War Chant , Drill
Typical MusicNovember 2005, New Albion RecordsPondok (Sarah Cahill, piano)Typical Music (Arden Trio)Ngaben (Gamelan Galak Tika w/ New England Conservatory Philharmonia Dante Anzolini, director)
ShadowbangJune 2003, Cantaloupe RecordsBang on a Can All-Stars with Wayan Wija, dalang
This is Not a ClarinetJuly 2001, Cantaloupe RecordsPartial TruthsFour Impersonations: Honshirabe, Pengrangrang Gede, Thum Nyatiti, Bindu SemaraThree Island Duos by Michael TenzerPress Release by David Lang
Evan Ziporyn: Gamelan Galak TikaMay 2000, New World RecordsAmokTire Fire
Animal ActCRI Emergency Music 1993What She Saw ThereTree FrogWaiting by the PhoneWalk the Dog
American Works for Balinese GamelanNew World Records 1993Banyuari by Michael Tenzer, Situ Banda by Michael Tenzer, Khayalan Tiga by Wayne Vitale, Aneh Tapi Nyata by Evan Ziporyn, Kekembangan by Nyoman Windha & Evan ZiporynPerformed by
Gamelan Sekar JayaNotes to Self (2010) 15' – solo bass clarinetHive (2007) 17' clarinet quartet – 2 clarinets, 2 bass clarinetsBig Grenadilla (2006) 15' – concerto for bass clarinet and chamber orchestraDrill (2002) 10' – concerto for solo bass clarinet with wind ensembleFour Impersonations (1999) 18' – solo clarinetHonshirabe (4:00) Bindu Semara (5:30) Thum Nyatiti (2:30) Pengrangrang Gede (5:30)
Partial Truths (1999) 17' – solo bass clarinetTsmindao Ghmerto (1995) 7' – solo bass clarinet and wind ensembleTsmindao Ghmerto (1994) 4' – solo bass clarinetWalk the Dog (1990) 25' – bass clarinet and electronicsBe-In (1990) 9' – bass clarinet and string quartetWhat She Saw There (1988) 13' – bass clarinet (or cello) and 2 marimbasWaiting By The Phone (1986) 12' – solo clarinetTwo Obsessions (1980) 15' – solo clarinetHujan Arja (2012) 12' – Balinese gamelan semara dana (7-toned gong kebyar)Lapanbelas (2010) 18' – Balinese gamelan semara dana (7-toned gong kebyar)Bali Tiba (from A House in Bali) (2009) 7' – Balinese gamelan gong kebyarBayu Sabda Idep (2007) 27' – Just Intonation slendro chamber gamelan and chamber string orchestraCu(Bali)Bre (2007) 3'30" – gender wayang duoSabar Gong (2005) 5' (in collaboration w/Lamine Touré) – Balinese gamelan with Senegalese Sabar drumsAradhana (2004) 15' – Balinese gamelan with Chinese pipaNgaben (for Sari Club) (2003) 15' – Balinese gamelan & orchestraKebyar Kebyar (2002) 7' – Balinese gamelan gong kebyarAmok! (1996) 32' – six movements for Balinese gamelan, double bass (or cello), percussion sampler, keyboard samplerTire Fire (1994) 25' – Balinese gamelan, two electric guitars, electric bass, and keyboard (or mandolin)Aneh Tapi Nyata (1992) 14' – chamber ensemble and Balinese percussionKekembangan (1990) 16' (in collaboration with I Nyoman Windha) – saxophone quartet and Balinese gamelanNight Bus (1990) 12' – Sundanese gamelan (commissioned by the Toronto Border Crossings Festival for the Evergreen Club)A House in Bali (2009) 90' – opera based on the memoir of Colin McPhee, for amplified sextet (gtr, perc, pno, vln, vc, cb), Balinese gamelan, two tenors, one soprano, and four Balinese actors/dancers www.houseinbali.orgOedipus Rex (2004) 90' – Greek choruses and onstage incidental music the American Repertory Theater production of the original Sophocles tragedy. Directed by Robert Woodruff, Loeb Theater, Cambridge, MAShadowBang (2001) 90' – full-length theater work for Balinese dalang (shadow puppeteer) and Bang on a Can Allstars.Commissioned by Rockefeller Multi-Arts Program for I Wayan Wija and Bang on a Can Allstars; premiered October 2001 at MIT Kresge Auditorium, Cambridge, and MassMOCA, North Adams, MA
Tabla Concerto: Mumbai (2011) 25' – tabla solo, strings and percussioncommissioned by Meet the Composer
Hard Drive (2007) 18' – orchestra with electric guitarBayu Sabda Idep (2007) 27' – chamber string orchestra with gamelanBig Grenadilla (2006) 15' – orchestra and solo bass clarinetWar Chant (2004) 15' – orchestra with Hawaiian-style lap-steel guitarcommissioned by Boston Modern Orchestra Project
Ngaben (for Sari Club) (2003) 15' – orchestra with gamelancommissioned by the New England Conservatory; world premiere Jordan Hall, Boston, March 12, 2003 by Gamelan Galak Tika and the NEC Symphony, Dante Anzolini, conductor
Frog's Eye (2002) 13' – chamber orchestracommissioned and premiered by Boston Pro Arte Orchestra, Isiaiah Jackson,conductor, October 2002
Filling Station (1986) 12' – orchestra premiered by UC Berkeley Symphony, EZ conductor, October 1986Pleasureville, Pain City (1985) 6' – premiered by UC Berkeley Symphony, John Sackett, conductor, February 1985The Ornate Zither and the Nomad Flute (2005) 15' – for solo soprano and wind ensemble
premiered March 2005 by Anne Harley with MIT Wind Ensemble, Fred Harris, directorCommissioned by Richard Nordlof.
Drill (2002) 10' – concerto for solo bass clarinet with wind ensemblepremiered by EZ and MIT WindEnsemble, Fred Harris, director
Tsmindao Ghmerto (1995) 7' – solo bass clarinet and wind ensemblecommissioned and premiered by Nederlands Blazers, New Years Day 1996
Houtman's Men in Buleleng (1996) 15'for Orkest de Volharding, premiered at Ijsbreker, Amsterdam
Standard ensembles
Where Was I? (2008) 25' – cello, piano, percussionHive (2007) 17' – clarinet quartet – 2 clarinets, 2 bass clarinetsSpeak, At-man! (2006) 10' – alto flute and pianoBreathing Space (2003) 20' – three movements for string quartetcommissioned and premiered by
Ethel, Miller Theater, New York, April 2003
Typical Music (2000) 30' – three movements for piano triocommissioned by Readers Digest/Meet the Composer and the Sun Valley Center for the Arts for the Arden Trio, premiered Ketchum, ID, January 2001
Melody Competition (1999, rev. 2000) 21' – for percussion sextetcommissioned and premiered by red fishblue fish, Steven Schick, director; UCSD, La Jolla, CA, May 1999
Dreams of a Dominant Culture (1997) 20' – for flute, clarinet, percussion, electric piano, violin, cellocommissioned and premiered by Boston Musica Viva, Richard Pittman, conductor; Longy School, Cambridge, October 1997
Eel Bone (1996) 13' – string quartetcommissioned and premiered by Kronos Quartet, San Francisco, May 1996
Kebyar Maya (1995) 14' – cello octetcommissioned by Rockefeller Multi-Arts Program for Maya Beiser
Be-In (1991) 11' – multiple versions: string quartet and bass clarinet/bassoon/double bass, clarinet, mandolin, cello, electric piano, double bass, hand percussionBossa Nova for brass quintet (1991) 3' – commissioned by MIT for the inauguration of President Charles VestDog Dream (1990) 12' – flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, cello, electric guitarcommissioned and premiered by California EAR Unit, LA County Museum
Ten String Quartets (1979) 10'Non-standard ensembles
Sulvasutra (2006) 18' – string quartet, pipa, and tablacommissioned by the Silk Road Project
Belle Labs (2006) 20' – violin, clarinet, and robotic xylophone (Heliphon)commissioned by Ensemble Robot and Boston Museum of Science, premiered January 25, 2005 by Evan Ziporyn and Todd Reynolds
Thread (2005) 25' – clarinet, alto and bass flute, violin, cellocommissioned and premiered by Dinosaur Annex, Cambridge, MA June 2005
No Return (2002) 30' – 4 movements for violin, clarinet, and sounds of the Salmon Rivercommissioned by Sun Valley Center for the Arts and premiered by Todd Reynolds and Evan Ziporyn, Ketchum, ID, January 2003
More Songs About Telephones and Dogs (2002) 20' – 4 movements for mixed ensemble – 'Iris in Furs' 'Jubilee of Indifference' '...no messages...' 'Dog Heaven'commissioned by The Kitchen for Kitchen House Blend, premiered December 2002
Tight Fitting Garments 15' – violin and clarinet: "It Is And It Isn't," "Illusions of Purity," "Jubilee of Indifference"Serenity Now (1998) 5'commissioned by Chamber Music Conference of the East, Bennington, VT
Pay Phone (1993) – violin, viola, electric guitar, bass clarinet, keyboard for the Michael Gordon PhilharmonicEsto House (1993) 10' – violin, viola, electric guitar, bass clarinet, keyboard for the Michael Gordon PhilharmonicTree Frog (1990) 25' – bass clarinet, baritone saxophone, trombone, percussion, keyboard, violin; commissioned by Toronto Border Crossings Festival for Sound Pressure, premiered at the Music Gallery, Toronto, May 1990Twine (1985) 12' – three movements for soprano, two saxophones, bass clarinet, violin, viola, percussionLUVTime (1984) 15' – three movements for bass clarinet, baritone saxophone, trombone, percussion, pianoIn Bounds (2004)Pondok (2000) 21'four movements – 'Fragrant Forest' (4:30), 'Tree Trunk' (3:45), 'Ginoman' (2:00), 'Gebyog (Husk)' (10:00)commissioned and premiered by Sarah Cahill
Fractal-Head (1987) 15'Some Coal, ten movements (1985) 30'The Water's Fine (1983) 30' – premiered by Michael OrlandWeltscenen (1981) 20' – premiered by Christopher OldfatherHval (2007) – solo bass, commissioned by Robert BlackCurrent Rate (1999) 15' – solo Chinese pipa and pre-recorded CD (or two pipa), commissioned and premiered by Wu Man at Bang on a Can Women and Music, Henry Street SettlementKebyar Maya (1995) 14' – solo cello and prerecorded CD, commissioned by Rockefeller Multi-Arts Program for Maya BeiserStudies in Normative Behaviour, Vol 1 (1991) 10' – solo percussionist, commissioned and premiered by Daniel J. TunickThe Motions (1990) 9' – solo viola (or viola and CD), premiered by John LadChina Spring (1991) 15' – for oboe and piano, commissioned and premiered by Peter Cooper and Evan Ziporyn
