Seoul, Korea July 11-29 Intensive Kayagum

Ever since I participated in the International Gugak Conference in 2005, which at that point was called the Korean Traditional Music Workshop for Overseas Musicologists, I have been fascinated with the kayagum. I bought several scores of contemporary kayagum music in hopes that I would someday try my hand at composing for the instrument. Up to the present, no opportunities have availed themselves. Like my first foray into Japanese instruments over ten years ago-when I took applied lessons in Japanese instruments to understand the idiomatic capabilities of the instruments-I thought it would be a good idea to learn how to play the kayagum to some extent before I started composing for it.

So, for my last three weeks in Korea-and also the last of my sabbatical-I have been taking kayagum lessons with Yi Ji-young, the kayagum player in CMEK (Contemporary Music Ensemble Korea. We met twice a week and she gives me plenty to work on. For some reason, I find the kayagum a bit easier to play than the koto. When I learned the koto, I remember that I often missed (i.e. over and undershot) the strings, and somehow never felt comfortable with plectrum worn on three fingers of the right hand. I don’t seem to have that problem on the kayagum, and somehow I find the timbre of the kayagum more earthy and engaging. One of the challenges of playing the kayagum is that because it is played with the bare fingers of the right hand, when you first start playing it is very easy to develop painful blisters. During our master classes at the National Gugak Center, I wore bandaids and tape on my fingers to avoid developing blisters. However, this is not a satisfactory long-term solution, since one must be able to play the instrument with bare fingers. For me, this is what worked: When I started intensive kayagum I practiced for a long period, but did not pluck too hard with my index finger. As callouses slowly developed on my fingers, I become able to pluck harder. Now I have solid callouses on my fingers, and playing at any dynamic level or force is an absolute joy. 

I have been working on what Yi Ji-young calls, “the shortest kayagum sanjo in the world,” a short arrangement that uses gestures found in sanjo in a condensed format. Amazingly, it still progresses through the major chandan rhythmic patterns. Additionally, for my second lesson I brought in the first movement of Byunki Hwang’s Sup (“The Forest”) entitled Green Shade. I got more than I bargained for, because my teacher then assigned “The Spring.” These pieces are not so difficult to play technically, but the kayagum requires so many subtle details to really make it sing and resonate, and the coordination between the left and right hand requires time to get used to. The left hand is supposed to “follow” the right hand even if vibrato is not requested in the score. I’ve also been sketching material for a solo kayagum composition, have read through Yi Ji-young’s new book “Contemporary Gayageum Notations for Composers,” Hee-sun Kim’s "Contemporary Kayagum Music in Korea,” and Gye-won Byeon’s “Writing New Music for Korean Traditional Instruments.” 

Yi Ji-young has spent alot of time teaching me how to string a kayagum, which is probably more difficult than playing it. It is a surprisingly detailed procedure that one must know. As she said to me, “If you don’t how to string your kayagum, when you get back to the US you will suffer.” Even tying the budeul cords is an involved procedure (see photo below).

In total, I’ve only taken six lessons, but these three weeks have really expanded my musical horizons and lit a spark for me. I was planning to purchase a kayagum this week and have it shipped back to the US, but the torrential rains that have descended on Seoul within the past couple of days have made it impossible to get around town. Some areas of Seoul are inaccessible and mud slides have killed several dozen people. Mercifully, the area where I am living was spared by the flash floods. 

One of the highlights of the last three weeks for me was being able to attend Byunki Hwang’s recital on July 13th at the LG Arts Center.

I was really looking forward to this concert. I thought it was a kayagum recital, but it turned out to be a composition recital. Byunki Hwang was MC for the event, and played on only the last two pieces, The Labyrinth and Chimyhang-moo.

The changgo player was none other than Kim Woong-sik of CMEK (Contemporary Music Ensemble Korea. Afterwards he was crowded by dozens of fans-like me!-wanting photos and his autograph.

During these three weeks I have been fortunate to be living with an international couple (Korean wife, Canadian husband) who I found through Air B&B. They have been gracious hosts and the accommodations have been quite comfortable. I have also grown quite fond of their three dogs, Aji, Umji, and Ungi.

(l to r) Ungi, Aji, Sujin, and Umji

It’s just a short walk to Yeongdeungpo-gu Office station through a beautiful park. Line 2 gets me to Seoul National University Station, where I've been taking kayagum lessons, in just 17 minutes. The weather has been mostly grey and rainy, but there were a couple of scorching days. I managed to take some cool photos on my way back home on one of these days.

The area is quiet and residential, which means that it is difficult to find restaurants with menus in English! My “host father” Les introduced me to a couple of inexpensive yet delicious places to eat and I’ve been visiting them fairly regularly. 

I return to the US in just two days, after being away for nearly five months. Many new challenges await me in this upcoming academic year at Texas A&M, including my tenure application and a visit by the Kenny Endo Ensemble. It has been tiring at times to live out of a suitcase–especially because I’ve had to pack for four seasons!–but during this time I’ve been able to branch out and learn about the musical traditions of both China and Korea. When I return to my home in late August–after being away since May 2010!–I look forward to being in contact with all of my new colleagues and begin creating a new body of work for their respective instruments. I think in a few years time, I may look back and recognize that 2011 was a pivotal year in my compositional development. 

Seoul, Korea July 3-10 College Music Society International Conference

Immediately after the International Gugak Workshop was over, I had one day to pack, move residence, and prepare for the College Music Society International Conference, which started the next day. For the first time in two weeks I enjoyed sleeping into the late morning hours without fighting an alarm clock to get up for an 8:30AM departure to the National Gugak Center. I checked out shortly before 12:00PM and made my way to the northern part of Seoul for my rehearsal with Jeong-min Park, the violoncellist in CMEK (Contemporary Music Ensemble Korea) for our upcoming performance on July 5th. We put Forest Whispers... (2008) together in about an hour or so and I made my way back to the Provista Hotel to pick up my belongings and move to IB Ville in Myeondong, about a 15-minute walk to the conference hotel. I had way too much luggage. Not only did I arrive in Seoul a heavy suitcase, duffel bag, my yoga bag full of shakuhachi and a backpack with my computer and other electronic gadgets, but in the two weeks that I participated in the International Gugak Workshop, they loaded us with three bags of CDs, books, and other materials. Additionally, I purchased a number of CDs and scores myself from the NCKTPA bookstore, not to mention some gifts in Insadong and other areas. In short, I had no less than seven items to carry with me. I could hardly even drag my suitcase from the hotel lobby to the edge of the street, never mind lug those items up and down subway stairs. So I hailed a taxi and sat in traffic for 40 minutes trying to get across the Han River in what is likely the most congested area of town. My taxi driver was quite responsible though. After providing him with the phone number of the guesthouse he was able to navigate through the one-way streets without incident, and we pulled up to my new residence for the next week. The IB Ville was about as bare-bones a place as one could hope for in this part of Seoul. My room was cramped, but the service was friendly enough, the location and price hard to beat, and relatively clean. Some conference participants may have enjoyed rooms in the extravagant Lotte Hotel for 220,00 KRW ($209) a night (!), but I paid 300,000 KRW ($285) for six nights. The weekly conference schedule was even busier than the International Gugak Workshop Schedule. With paper, concerts, and other activities packed from morning to night, how could I justify staying in a five-star hotel?!?!

Registration day (July 3rd) was a nightmare in terms of the weather. It rained cats and dogs all day. Just walking to the Lotte Hotel and back from IB Ville made me completely soaked, and my Birkenstock sandals took 3+ days to dry out as a result! I checked in right at 2:30PM when the registration desk opened, made my way back to my guesthouse for a nap and shower, and then walked back again for the 5:30PM bus departure to the Korea House. We were treated to a wonderful sampling of traditional Korean music and dance. Some of my American colleagues looked at me in surprise when I shouted out a few chuimsae (shouts of encouragement), but Koreans in attendance mentioned that they were pleasantly surprised to witness this and asked me if I was a Korean music scholar! It is interesting how one simple gesture can transmit so much information when performed in the proper context. Dinner afterwards was quite a feast and I was happy to see a few familiar faces and make new friends.

Welcome Dinner

The paper sessions began the next morning at Ewha Women’s University. I attended the following session:

9:00 LECTURE-RECITAL: From Night Songs to Dawn Songs (Korean Art Songs in the 1940s)

Jeesun Choi (Konkuk University)

9:30 LECTURE-RECITAL: Experiencing Korean Traditional Music, ‘P’ansori,’ as a Western Style Singer E. J. Choe (Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis) Jumi Kim (Cuesta College)

10:00 LECTURE-RECITAL: Young-Ja Lee’s Lyric Songs on Poems by Nam-Jo Kim (Life of Korean Women Artists) Kyoung Cho (University of South Florida) Jeong-Hwa Park (Center for Preparatory Studies in Music)

Ewha Women's University

The first plenary lecture was delivered by Sheen Dae-Cheol, who I previously met at the International Gugak Workshop. The content of his lecture, Korean Traditional Music, was similar to the one he gave a few weeks earlier, but I enjoyed it nonetheless and especially enjoyed observing the style of his delivery.

There were a number of papers I was planning to attend in the afternoon, but I was lured away by my dissertation advisor when I was at the University of Hawaii, Manoa, Don Womack, who had a rehearsal with CMEK (Contemporary Music Ensemble Korea) in preparation for Wednesday’s concert. Don was jet-lagged from his flight from Honolulu the evening before, so we took a short rest at our guesthouse before departing. Seoul is a much larger city than it appears on a subway map! I underestimated the time it would take to get across the city, and we were 15+ minutes late. Yi Ji-young, Tom Osbourne and his wife were waiting at Seocho station in a car all that time. Now I know to add another 15-20 minutes to any subway trip estimate I make. I sat in on the rehearsal for 30-45 minutes or so before I made my way back to Ewha Women’s University for the group dinner at Marie. 

CMEK Rehearsal

In the evening we were treated to a concert of new music by Korean women composers curated by one of the conference organizers John Robison. 

Celebrating Korean Women Composers 

Concert Manager: John O. Robison (University of South Florida)

Suite “Les douze signes” for solo piano ......................................... Kim Eunhye Cochon

Bin-Nyu-Eum for gayageum and changgo ..................................... Lee Boknam 

Icarus Wings for solo violoncello (world premiere) ..................... Park Eun Hye 

Paulownia’s Dream to be a sound for solo geomungo ................ Lee Gui-Sook 

Variations-Fantaisie” sur le thème du “Salut d’Amour” 

d’ Edward Elgar for two pianos (2007) ......................................... Lee Young-Ja

On Tuesday, July 5th I am sorry to report that I overslept and didn’t make it to the early morning paper sessions. By the time I made my way to campus, I was just in time the second plenary lecture, delivered by Lee Young-Jo from the Korea National University of Arts. I was especially interested in this lecture because it was focused on Korean Contemporary Music. However, Dr. Lee seemed to focus on presenting his works rather than discuss the broad landscape of Korean Contemporary Music. In the afternoon I attended the following papers:

1:30 PERFORMANCE: Beyond Borders: Exploring New Dimensions in Solo Piano Composition for the 21st Century Richard Steinbach (Briar Cliff University)

2:00 LECTURE-RECITAL: Developing Korean Piano Repertoire Based on the Traditional Folk Tune “Bird, Bird, Blue Bird” Eunjung Choi (Milledgeville, Georgia) Sumi Kwon (Hansei University)

2:30 PERFORMANCE: Korean and Japanese Works for Four Hands and Two Pianos: Cultures through Music Kumiko Shimizu (Delta State University) Jung-Won Shin (Delta State University)

Afterwards, I met Jeong-min Park had my dress rehearsal for the evening concert. We ended right on time and made our way down the hill to catch the bus, which departed for dinner promptly at 5:30PM. Dinner was none other than bulgogi (surprise!) on this evening, and I enjoyed the opportunity to get to know my performer. 

The concert on Tuesday, July 5th consisted of the following pieces:

Five Haiku ........................... Paul J. Dickinson (University of Central Arkansas) 

Stefanie C. Dickinson, piano

Flusso .................................................... Kye Ryung Park (Edison State College)

 Jieun Lee, viola Enrico Elisi, piano

Prelude and Fugue No. 12 in C-sharp Major “Pentatonic” ...... Michael J. Young (Morehead State University)

Michael J. Young, piano 

Forest Whispers ............. Marty Regan (Texas A&M University–College Station) 

Marty Regan, shakuhachi Jeung-Min Park, cello

Bar for Hans Sachs ...................................... Justin W. Merritt (St. Olaf College) Jun Qian, clarinet

Suite Antiqua ............................................ Mei-Chun Chen (Taichung, Taiwan) 

Jun Qian, clarinet Joanne Hsu, piano

Intrusions ................................... Daniel C. Adams (Texas Southern University) 

Ian Davidson, oboe Jessica A. Campbell, bassoon Joohyun Lee, piano

In Silence, Movement ............................... Ka Young Rhee (Bayside, New York) 

Jong Hyun Ahn, clarinet Ji Youn Kim, violin Yoon-Kyung Nam, cello Ka Young Rhee, piano

I was happy to have an opportunity to perform Forest Whispers... here in Seoul. Although I didn’t make any noticeable mistakes during the performance, since I haven’t been playing the shakuhachi regularly for some time I felt that my tone was not as polished as it was for past performances. The program notes for this work are below:

Forest Whispers.... (2008) is part of a continuing effort – which began with Song–Poem of the Eastern Clouds (2001) – to devise a notational system that imbues my music with a distinctively Japanese aesthetic. It is designed with an element of rhythmic indeterminacy and uses proportional notation to facilitate a flow of musical time based not on a fixed pulse or meter, but rather than on the natural patterns of the human breath. In this piece, I attempted to seamlessly blend the two instruments in a way that emphasizes their similarities and potential correspondences by means of imitative gestures, resulting in a soundscape where imagined boundaries between the “East” and “West” become blurred and transcended.

At this point in the conference (after just two days!) you could tell that participants were getting tired, so I applaud the conference organizers for including an entire day of sightseeing on Wednesday, July 6th

8:30 AM Bus transfer to Korean Folk Village

9:30 AM Arrive Korean Folk Village

10:00 AM Free time to explore Folk Village grounds

11:00 AM Nongak (Farmers’ Dance), Performance Arena

11:30 AM Tightrope performance, Performance Arena

12:00 PM Traditional Wedding Ceremony, House #22

12:45 PM Group Lunch at Mongingak (included)

1:30 PM Bus transfer to National Gugak Center

2:30 PM Hands-on Changgo workshop at the NGC

4:30 PM Workshop concludes/Bus transfer to Lotte

5:30 PM Arrive Lotte


I had enough changgo for one summer, so I excused myself and went to the Impressionism exhibition from the Musee d'Orsay at the Seoul Arts Center during the changgo workshop.

Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night over the Rhone

In the evening, there was a cross-cultural collaborative concert between between CMEK and UH Manoa, featuring works that I heard in Honolulu back in February. 

Cross-Cultural Collaborative Concert: Contemporary Music Ensemble Korea (CMEK) and University of Hawai‘i Composers

Highwire Act (2009) ..................................................... Donald Reid Womack

Transcending the Sky (2010) ............................................................ Yoko Sato 

Park Chi-wan, piri Kim Woong-sik, janggu

Won’t Do Wrong No More (2011) ........................................ Thomas Osborne

 Yi Ji-young, gayageum Park Chi-wan, piri Kim Woong-sik, janggu

Pieces of the Sky (2009) ....................................................... Thomas Osborne

 I. Some blind girls ask questions of the moon

1. Your illusion, sun, is to make the garden turn Technicolor 
2. Beneath the tender protest of the stars
3. Singing, the seven maidens

Yi Ji-young, gayageum

One on One (2010) ...................................................................... Takeo Kudo 

Park Chi-wan, piri Kim Woong-sik, janggu

Spiral Toward the Center of the Sky (2010) ................... Donald Reid Womack

 Yi Ji-young, gayageum Park Chi-wan, piri Kim Woong-sik, janggu

I really enjoyed this concert the second time around, and felt that the ensemble gave more a more confident performance of most of the pieces. Isn’t this always the case with new music? My only disappoint was that less than half of the 120-130 registered participants were not present. You could really feel conference fatigue kicking.

On Thursday, July 7th we had another day of sightseeing, this time with the following schedule (I was assigned to the blue track):

Korean Culture Tour

10:00 am Gyeongbok Palace & National Palace Museum 

12:30 pm Korean Cooking Class at Korea House (lunch included)

3:00 pm Participatory Tea Ceremony at Namsan Traditional Theater

I especially enjoyed the opportunity to try my hand at Korean cooking, although the teachers patrolled around like hawks and kept on scolding the men for this and that! At the beginning of the class, the head teacher asked us, “Have you ever had bulgogi?” at which point a few people sarcastically remarked, “Not since this morning!”

Cooking Korean Food

By the time we reached the Namsan Theater, it was absolutely pouring. Mercifully, after a brief tour of some of the historical buildings, the tea ceremony, hanbok dress-up session, and traditional music performance were all held inside.

Dressing up in Hanbok

In the evening, I had a delicious Korean barbecue dinner with Don, Tom, and his wife and then moved my belongings to the residence of my host family in southwest Seoul, as I didn’t want to be carrying around heavy bags for the trip to Gyeongju. What I particularly enjoyed about this dinner was our waitress – a Chinese woman who spoke Japanese and works in a Korean barbecue restaurant! Since coming to Korea my Japanese language skills have proven useful more than once, and this was one of those times. 

Don Womack brilliantly negotiated with Peter Park and made am arrangement to meet the group at Seoul station rather than at the Lotte Hotel at 7:00AM, so I sent a quick email the conference organizers to let them know not to expect me either. I really appreciate getting another 90 minutes of sleep! The train ride to Gyeongju took just two hours, and by 11:00AM were had arrived at the southeastern tip of Korea. Imagine being able to get across an entire country by train in just two hours. After arrival we were treated to lunch and then sightseeing commenced to the following sights:

 Tumili Park, Cheomseongdae Observatory, Anapji Pond, & Gyeongju National Museum

These are all sights I visited on a day tour that I participated in back in 2005, so it was quite nostalgic to view them again. I remember back in 2005 when I was viewing the tombs in particular, thinking that I’d likely never in my life have another chance to view this particular scene. In retrospect it seems like just yesterday that I was in Korea. I believe it is healthy to live life to its fullest, but not necessarily with a sense of desperation, constantly wondering if you’ll never have a chance to visit someplace again in your lifetime. When I visited England and Paris in 1991 – the first time I ever went abroad – I remember thinking that I’d never have a chance to go abroad again. How wrong I was!

It was blazing hot on this day, with temperatures well into the 90s and the rays of the sun beating down without mercy. I regret losing my hat in Maui in February! Instead I decided to use my umbrella, which brought down the temperature a bit and protected me from the sun.

In the evening, we were treated to a delicious buffet meal hosted by the mayor of Gyeonju, followed by the second CMS composers concert with a special appearance by the The Gyeongju City Chorale. 

Performances of New Music by CMS Composers II

Concert Manager: Kyong Mee Choi (Roosevelt University–Chicago)

Mei Votum ...................................... Da Jeong Choi (University of North Texas) 

Seung Won Yoo, piano

Blitzkrieg ................................... Malcolm W. Rector (University of St. Thomas) 

Malcolm W. Rector, piano

Shards ....................................... John C. Griffin (Western Michigan University) 

Francesca M. Arnone, flute John C. Griffin, piano

8 Variations, One Crazy, on “Ah! Vous Dirai-je, Maman” .......... Giuseppe Lupis (Grand Valley State University) Hyunjung Rachel Chung, piano

Buffalo and Me .......................................... Ji Hyun Woo (Fredonia, New York) 

You-Kyoung Kim, flute Ki Ho Kimi, changgo

Five Pieces on Korean Zen Poems ..........Daniel J. Perlongo (Indiana University of Pennsylvania)

Nanette Solomon & Susan Wheatley, piano four hands

A Program of Korean Choral Music featuring The Gyeongju City Chorale 

Dohn Kim, Director Dong-Wook Kim, Assistant Director Sun-Hyung Lee, piano Ji-Hyun Kim, piano

On the morning Saturday, July 9th, I attended the following:

9:30 PAPER: Songs of Protest: Incorporating F&*@in USA by Yoon Min-suk into an American Music Course 

Elizabeth Barkley (Foothill College)

10:00 PAPER: The Singing Revolution: Peaceful Protest through Song 

Heather MacLaughlin Garbes (The Woodlands, Texas)

10:30 LECTURE-RECITAL: The Melding of Korean and Western Traditions

Francesca M. Arnone (Baylor University)

11:15 PANEL: Chinese Music/Western Music: Three Snapshots Michael B. Saffle (Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University) James Deaville (Carleton University) Eric Hing-tao Hung (Westminster Choir College)

After lunch, I spent time preparing for my lecture at 3:15PM, “Composing for the Shakuhachi.” I am glad that I had time in the room beforehand, because there were some audio problems that needed to be addressed. If I hadn’t had an opportunity to check my sound, some of the sound excerpts from my Ipod would have been distorted. 

In the evening, a number of us to a taxi downtown and found a delicious – an inexpensive – place to eat dinner. Walking around to enjoy the surroundings of Lake Bomun was out of the question, as it was pouring buckets of rain all day.

On the last day of the conference, I enjoyed John Robison’s presentation on “Lee Chan-Hae and Korean Pansori Composition in the Twenty-First Century.” In the afternoon, we had another sightseeing tour to the following sights:

Seokguram Grotto, Bulguksa Temple, & Folkcraft Village

Bulguksa Temple was just as spectacular as I remembered it when I first visited Gyeounju in 2005. However, the mayor of Gyeonju wanted use to see the city performance facilities so we didn’t have a chance to visit the Folkcraft Village.

Bulguksa Temple

In the evening, we had another fabulous dinner at the Hyundai Hotel, supplemented by a magnificent performance of the  Hahoe Byeolsin ‘Gut’ Mask Dance. It ended much earlier than anticipated, and Don and I were itching to do something, so we decided to enjoy the hotel bowling alley. It has probably been over 20+ years since I’ve been bowling, and I was just terrible. There were a couple of times that I bowled strikes –more of less by luck – and even once where I had two strikes in a row! Still I barely made over 100+ points and got beaten four out of four games. 

Bowling a strike!

I must applaud the organizers of this conference. I really didn’t imagine the extent of the details involved in planning a conference of this scope until I witnessed the day to day flow of events. To truly understand the amount of work involved I’d have to be a conference organizer myself (perhaps CMS International Conference in Japan someday!), but observing Peter Park and John Robison, along with Plaza 21 workers and others, heightened my respect for what it takes to organize a conference of this magnitude. At first, I thought that the $1,350 conference fee was quite expensive, but what I didn’t realize was how much it covered, such as meals, transportation, and the informative and well-organized sightseeing tours. When I travel I’m usually by myself and rarely take advantage of group tours. However, since we did so much in so little time, I can now understand the value of asking someone to organize a foreign abroad experience for you. On a professional note, I was happy to reunite with old colleagues and make some new ones, and I’m thrilled to have been a part of this magnificent week of sharing ideas, music, and experiencing Korean culture with my CMS colleagues. 

Seoul, Korea June 19-July 2 International Gugak Workshop Week 2

The beginning of our second week of lectures started off with perhaps the highlight of the entire two weeks for me, a discussion with internationally renown kayagum performer Byung-ki Hwang. His contributions to the world of changjak gugak (contemporary music for traditional Japanese instruments) has been incredible. In 1965 he was invited to the Festival of Music and Arts of this Century in Honolulu, HI (invited by Barbara Smith!) as the representative artist for the “East,” which subsequently launched his international career. His first album was released in the USA and it wasn’t until the late 1970s that he began to release recordings in his native Korea.  I bought all of his CDs when I last visited Korea in 2005 and have been impressed with how his compositions are able to push to the envelope of performing technique and yet are so firmly indebted to and based on Korean musical aesthetics. I believe it is this perfect balance of the “tradition” vs. “innovation” that gives his works a certain timeless quality. I asked him what he thought about many fusion groups that are popularizing “Korean” music yet also perhaps misrepresenting it. He answered so poetically, and I will never forget what he said. “There are many kinds of drinks that Coca-Cola and other companies try to market to the public for consumption, and yet the best selling drink in Korea is still water. I am interested in creating the purest form of water that I can.” 

Byung-ki Hwang

He fondly relayed stories about the early stage of career and experience in Honolulu and seemed energized by the thoughtful questions asked by the group. After class, we were scheduled for a kayagum rehearsal, but he generously gave us over 90+ minutes so we didn’t have anything afterwards. I also found out during this class that he is giving a recital on July 13th here in Seoul! The tickets were expensive (84,000 won after 30% discount!) but this a once in a lifetime opportunity to hear him perform so I would have gladly paid full price for the privilege. Interestingly, for this lecture the composers moved to the front of the classroom while the ethnomusicologists moved to the back! I recorded this lecture with my digital recorder and FLIP video for future reference. 

The next day we were treated to a discussion of changjak gugak by Byeon, Gye-won, who published an invaluable text in 2009 entitled “Writing New Music for Traditional Korean Instruments.” While she summarized much of what she research and wrote about in her book, towards the end she introduced us to a number of exciting, young Korean performers who are creating ground-breaking if not controversial music. She generously gave me a CD that I was planning to purchase in the NCKPA bookstore.

It has been raining for nearly a week non-stop in Seoul, and the weather ruined our plans to visit Changduk Palace on Wednesday, June 29th. Instead, a small group went to the COEX underground, and another group went to a street in the downtown area not far from Insadong that is famous for musical instrument shops. 

A collection of puk drums

Afterwards we made our way to Insadong, did some shopping, and enjoyed a delicious dinner together in one of the alleyway restaurants. 

The last two days of our workshop was spent preparing for an informal performance to be held on main stage of the National Gugak Center. We had another danso class on Thursday, June 30th that frustrated many participants because it is very difficult to produce a sound. The mouthpiece is similar to the shakuhachi in that it is cut obliquely outward, so getting a sound from the instrument was not too difficult for me. What was frustrating was that the high range of the instruments is not in tune, and therefore requires embouchure adjustment. In the afternoon we rehearsed for our performance and in the evening enjoyed a concert featuring the gomungo. The changgo player and main gomungo were evidently holders of the Intangible Cultural Assets in their respective instruments, and their performance was simply sublime. 

Our performance on July 1st on the main stage of the National Gugak Center was quite a fiasco!

Preparing for performance on the main stage of the National Gugak Center

While we could hardly get a sound from our danso, but we redeemed ourselves with enthusiastic folk song singing and a kayagum performance of Arirang. The audience was supportive, and shouted chuimsae (shouts of encouragement) at just the right moments.

The "pro" group rehearsal Samulnori

Afterwards we were presented with graduation diplomas. In the afternoon we had a few hours break before dinner, and I went to Insadong for some more shopping. Our final farewell dinner was quite a blast, as each of us had to come up with a song to sing for the group. It was also quite sad to say goodbye to each other. I feel privileged to have had this opportunity to study Korean music with such a warm group of people, and hope that we all remain close colleagues for many years to come. I can't wait to start studying the kayagum and composing for this wonderful, earthy instrument.

Our final farewell dinner

Seoul, Korea June 19-July 2 International Gugak Workshop Week 1

From June 19-July 1 I will be participating in the 2011 International Gugak Workshop in Seoul, Korea. I participated in this workshop in 2005 when I was a graduate student at U. Hawaii, Manoa. In 2005 the workshop was three weeks long. Now it is just two weeks long, but the content of the program is similar. This workshop consists of lectures on Korean music and dance, including applied instruction in traditional Korean instruments as well as various field trips. Lecture topics include Korean music history, ritual court music, shamanic ritual music, and folk music, among others. It is held at the The National Center for the Korean Traditional Performing Arts. There are nineteen participants from around the world, and hosts have been extremely generous in providing us with countless numbers of books and recordings of traditional Korean music. 

National Center for the Korean Traditional Performance Arts

My arrival at Incheon International Airport was simple. I passed through immigration, customs, retrieved my luggage, withdrew cash from an ATM, rented a cell phone, and purchased my bus ticket to downtown Seoul within 45 minutes after my flight from Shanghai landed. I reserved a flight that would get me into Seoul in the mid-afternoon so I would have a few hours to get settled before around 8:00PM orientation meeting in the cafe downstairs from the Provista Hotel.  However, my flight on China Eastern Airlines was two hours late taking off and I didn’t land until 5:40PM or so. Miraculously, due to the efficiency of Incheon International mentioned above, I managed to check-in to the hotel shortly after 7:30PM, and after taking a quick shower ran downstairs for the orientation. We really have a fabulous group of participants. Everyone is extremely friendly and luckily there are no complainers in the group. I’ve been enjoying getting to know Henry Spiller from UC Davis and Christopher Shultis from the University of New Mexico, and there are three women from Shanghai Conservatory of Music who really enliven the group atmosphere. 

During our first week, in the mornings we had classes on the history of Korean traditional music, court music, and folk music, and religious music. Most of our afternoons have been spend learning the kayagum, changgo, and danso. Last time I took this workshop I focused on the changgo, because I thought it would give me a broad understanding of Korean music since it is present in nearly every genre except p’ansori, which is accompanied by a puk. However, since I will be studying intensive kayagum with Yi Ji-Young in July, I really appreciated to learn the basics of kayagum technique. Our kayagum teacher, Sooeun Kwak is such an elegant and graceful woman, and I enjoyed her classes. Since the kayagum is played with bare fingers rather than picks like the Japanese koto, I found it a but easier to play. However, my fingers didn’t seem  to like the silk strings, and I had to apply protective tape before three fingers on my right hand became disabled due to blisters. The tone quality of the kayagum is softer, rounder, and somehow more “earthy” than the koto. Due to the playing technique, it may not be as agile as the koto, but I’m sure it has other strengths and unique characteristics. The basic tuning is a mode 4 pentatonic scale of G-A-C-D-E over 12 strings. It is played with the thumb (1), index (2), and middle finger (3). The index finger seem to get most of the action, and while the basic technique simply involves plucking the string from below, you can also “flick” the string, which results in a subtle change of timbre. The right hand is used for vibrato and other pressing techniques, although we didn’t get to far with L.H. technique in our classes. Since I’ve studied changgo before most of the changdan patterns were a review for me.

Kayagum

 We also had a class in danso, the end-blown bamboo flute. I found the danso quite easy to play since it has a mouthpiece that is shaped obliquely outward, quite similar to the shakuhachi. Within a few minutes I figured out the basic pitches and was able to play Arirang. However, I don’t really feel that the danso is a very expressive instruments. The sound is thin and high, and its small bore prevents the wide range of tonal expression that the shakuhachi has. 

We have fallen into a fairly regimented routine at this point in the workshop. The group enjoys a delicious breakfast in our hotel before boarding the bus at 9:00AM. Our lectures run from 9:30AM to 12:30PM followed by lunch in the cafeteria. Afterwards, many of us hang out in the Korea Music CD and Bookshop right across the courtyard. I have not been able to yield to temptation and have already purchased a number of books that I’m really looking forward to reading, especially Byeon Gyewon’s “Writing New Music for Korea Traditional Instruments.” In the afternoon we have our studio sessions followed by dinner in the cafeteria. Most evenings we are home by 6:30PM, but the days are so packed with activities and new information that it is simply an overload to the senses. I have had no problems sleeping since the program began. As soon as a lay down horizontally on the bed, I’m out like a light in less then ten minutes!

Samulnori rehearsal

Nearly all meals are covered by the program, although cafeteria Korean food can start to get boring after a few days. On Wednesday, June 22, I met my colleague from U. of Hawaii Sunhee Koo and Henry Spiller for dinner at a delicious Korean barbecue restaurant right across the street from our hotel. The food was very delicious, and while the individual meat platters may seem expensive (48,000 won=$48) for two people, it also includes countless numbers of side dishes, vegetables, and salads. Best of all, the side dishes are replaced immediately upon consumption! 

We had some beer and delicious black raspberry wine, which put me over the edge much more quickly than I anticipated. 

On Thursday June 22, we were given performance tickets to Miso, a theatrical production based on The Tale of Chunhyang. I was hoping for an enchanting evening, but the number of foreign tourists in the audience gave me cause for concern. While there certainly were elements of Korean dance and music–and of course costumes–in this performance, I simply felt that it was over the top and did not honor the text on which it was based. The unfolding of the drama was rushed, and in less than 45 minutes, the story was resolved. Afterwards, it was practically non-stop fortissimo Samulnori until the end of the performance. For better or worse however, this is what foreign audiences–and perhaps many Koreans too!–have come to know and become entranced by. 

Over the weekend (June 24-26), we took a field trip to Jindo Island in the southwest part of the Korea. It was a six-hour drive to reach this remote area of the country. However, there is another branch of the NCKTPA on Jindo, and this is where we stayed and our activities were based. Upon arrival, we had a changgo class for 90 minutes or so, and then after dinner enjoyed a fabulous concert of Korean traditional music in the on-site concert hall. Evidently, these concerts are held every Friday throughout the summer months and are free! The program was a broad sampling of many genres of traditional Korean music, from p’ansori, and samulnori to sanjo. As if this wasn’t enough stimulation for one day, afterwards we learned Ganggangsulle (Women’s Circle Dance), an Intangible Korean Cultural Asset, with a vibrant, enthusiastic woman who is evidently responsible for passing on this art form to the younger generations. It consisted of choreographed movements that reminds one of “ring around the rosy,” but evidently has more than 20+ “games” that one can add on to the basic circle movements for fun. I’m not sure why at 38 years old I enjoyed it so much. Perhaps it was just a way to wind down, move our bodies, and just enjoy something unexpected with a wonderful group of new friends and colleagues. 

The next day we enjoyed a lecture about traditional Korean instruments in the morning. This was one of the better lectures we’ve attended, I think, mainly because concise explanations were followed by short performance demonstrations on each of the major Korean traditional instruments. Towards the end, all of the performers took the stage again for a short performance of sinawa, perhaps my favorite genre of traditional Korean music. In the afternoon, we took a sightseeing trip around Jindo island, first stopping at a stunning overlook where various islands could be seen in the distance, followed by a visit to Ullimsanbang, named after romantic scenery of the nearby mountain peaks of Mt. Cheomchalsan. There is a traditional C-shaped tile-roofed house containing an artist workroom and an art museum containing the paintings of the Heo family. 

In the evening we were treated to another delicious dinner with plenty of red liquor (Jindo hongju). 

Afterwards, we attended a shamanic ritual ceremony or Ssitkimgut (cleansing exorcism). Evidently, a real exorcism can take anywhere from 6-8 hours, but they shortened it to 3 hours for us. The music was intoxicating, with clever changdae patterns linked effortless to sections in asymmetrical meters. The communication between the chief shaman, an 89-year old women and her three disciples was magic to behold. Pure love and respect radiated through there eyes. I was impressed by the sheer volume of the text and wondered how on earth they could memorize it. At one point in the performance the head disciple (a famous p’ansori singer) was crying. When I spoke to her afterwards she said that she is moved to tears whenever she performs with her teacher simply because she feels so blessed to have had such a special relationship with this woman for most of her adult life.

Ssitkimgut shamanic ritual ceremony

It was a deeply moving performance for me to. I managed to record the entire event in high-quality 96khz, 24 bit setting with my digital recorder and look forward editing it. My batteries in my flip drive died after 80 minutes or so.

At this point, a massive typhoon was nearing the southern tip of Korea and by the time we returned to our dorms, the winds had blown down a tree in the parking lot and caused the windows in our rooms to rattle all night. Remarkably I slept soundly through it all and somewhat enjoyed the refreshing winds. To beat the center of the typhoon, we hit the road at 9:00AM the next, and returned to Seoul just after 4:00PM.

What an incredible first week in Korea!