UCLA professor of ethnomusicology Anthony Seeger said that
Americans were never fully exposed to world music until after the
World Wars. Then, while introducing Coca-Cola and McDonald’s
to the rest of the world, America opened its ears to the sounds of
other cultures and redefined its musical boundaries.
The UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology is essentially built on
that principle of exposing students to diverse music. To expand the
horizon of music lovers, it regularly sponsors concerts featuring a
variety of ethnic music.
Tonight at 7:30 p.m., the department will present a free Korean
music concert in Schoenberg Hall’s Jan Popper Theater.
“There will be performers from universities, as well as
professional artists,” ethnomusicology professor DongSuk Kim
said. “We’ve expanded the content and the number of
performers from last year’s concert. Last year, we had seven
performers from Korea. This year, we have 21. Amazingly, (their
respective universities) bought their plane tickets, room and
board, and expenses.”
The Korean musicians are part of the Society for Korean
Traditional Musicology. Many of them have ties to Kim, UCLA’s
leading expert on Korean performing arts. Together, they have
staged the Korean Music Concert for two consecutive years.
The concert will feature performances by the Kayagum (a
12-string instrument) ensemble from E-wha University, one of
Korea’s oldest universities. Traditional Korean music will be
played as well as contemporary church songs like
“Hallelujah,” which will be performed by the Yegahoe
Gayagum Ensemble.
“I want to play the most authentic and real traditional
Korean music rather than the modernized version,” said
Jaesook Moon, Kayagum player and E-wha University professor,
translated by Kim. “I want to showcase the core of the
Kayagum.”
Mina Kim will perform Pansori, a Korean dramatic song. According
to DongSuk Kim, Pansori is similar to opera and often lasts over
eight minutes. For sake of brevity in the program, the song will be
shortened.
The Korean Classical Music and Dance Company, which was founded
by DongSuk Kim, is the only U.S. group performing. Kim has taken
the act to prestigious venues such as the Hollywood Bowl, the New
York Metropolitan Opera House and the White House. It was also a
part of the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Art Festivals in Los Angeles and
Seoul, respectively.
Like Kim, Professor Hanbum Suh of the SKTM aims to take
traditional Korean music to as many places around the world as
possible.
“Our goal is to explore the beauty and characteristics of
traditional Korean music and dance,” Suh said. “We want
to exchange something culturally with the students. We’ve
been to Beijing, China and Tokyo, Japan. UCLA has been a good
starting point for us in America.”
The ideals of Suh and the rest of SKTM will be presented in a
four-hour lecture series in Jan Popper Theater this afternoon
starting at 3:30 p.m. Kim, who teaches the ethnomusicology course
Music of Korea, will take advantage of the opportunity by having
his students attend the concert and write a paper on it for a
midterm grade.
“It’s a good chance to explore different
cultures,” Kim said. “Rarely do you see professional
artists from Korea. It’s a great opportunity only a
university could offer.”