For those not going to HJ Lim’s barnstorming debut at the Wigmore on Friday evening, there’s the last of this month’s All Eyes on Korea / Global Korea Lectures on aspects of Korean culture. Wish I could do both. If you’ve heard Keith Howard lecture before, you know you’re in for a fascinating evening at the KCC.
Korean Music: Tradition, Innovation, and Identity
DATE: Friday 20 July 2012 19.00
VENUE: Korean Cultural Centre UK
SPEAKER: Prof. Keith Howard, SOAS, University of London/ Prof. Nathan Hasselink, University of British Columbia
As Part of our 2012 celebrations ‘All Eyes On Korea’, the Korean Cultural Centre UK will shortly be hosting a Korean Music Lecture: Korean Music: Tradition, Innovation, and Identity.
Korean music is, like Korean food, distinct, ranging from ethereal court traditions tracing back a thousand years to fiery regional folksongs and percussion bands. With instruments ranging from Gayageum and Geomungo to Kkwaenggwari gongs and the Janggo drum, it has become an icon of identity for contemporary Koreans. Today, the old meets the new, as composers and musicians blend Western and Korean sound worlds.
This lecture will introduce many of the elements that make Korean music so special and will illustrate both the wealth of contemporary creativity and the importance given to maintaining traditional music as an intangible cultural heritage.
Please Send Us Your RSVP to [email protected] Or Phone 0207 004 2600
* Keith Howard, Professor of Music at SOAS, University of London, is an ethnomusicologist and anthropologist who has written or edited 17 books and more than 100 articles on Korean music and culture. A regular broadcaster on Korean affairs, he was founder and manager of the SOASIS CD and DVD label and licensee of OpenAir Radio.
* Nathan Hesselink, Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology at the University of British Columbia, is a performer-researcher of South Korean percussion traditions. Former President of the Association for Korean Music Research, he has written extensively on p’ungmul and samulnori.
