Ensemble SU is a five-piece fusion group formed in 2010 and led by Jihye “JJ” Hur on 25-string gayageum with Yein Kim on haegeum, Myunghyun Park on cello, Sangjung Lee on keyboard and Deokhwan Kim playing Korean and western percussion (and not to be confused with a similarly named jazz / gugak fusion trio based … [Read More]
Category: Percussion (page 2)
Think Korea 2006 – an introduction
Think Korea 2006 was an ambitious programme of cultural and other events organised by the Korean Embassy as part of the “Korea-UK Mutual Visit Year”. There was, I believe, a reciprocal series of UK-related events organised in Korea, but I never saw any publicity about it. One event I do know of: the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra … [Read More]
Korean performers at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe
A detailed mining of the Edinburgh Fringe website reveals twenty Korean performances plus one talk this year. Magic show Snap makes a return, along with the ever-popular drum show Tago, both part of a “Korean Season presented by AtoBiz Ltd” – who also bring new acts Kokdu and Ensemble Su. I must say I’m a … [Read More]
Event news: London Korean Festival 2017 with Feel Korea
As part of KOREA/UK 2017-18, the London Korean Festival 2017 with Feel Korea offers day-long family festival and then an evening K-Pop concert at Olympia on 8 July. London Korean Festival 2017 with Feel Korea Olympia London | Hammersmith Road | Kensington | London W14 8UX Saturday 8 July 2017, 11am – 10pm Both daytime … [Read More]
Conference news: Presence Through Sound — Place and contemporary music in and from East Asia
Coming up at SOAS immediately after Easter, a two-day conference that includes a concert at Club Inégales, one of our favourite venues. Presence Through Sound: Place and contemporary music in and from East Asia 18 April 2017, 9:30am – 6pm, Room 116, SOAS College Buildings 18 April 2017, 7pm – 10pm, Club Inégales, 180 North … [Read More]
Fringe visit: Tago – Korean Drum II
On paper, one hour of Korean drumming doesn’t sound appealing, but this type of show is consistently popular with fringe-goers. There is enough variety to keep the audience interested, from Buddhist temple percussion to Samulnori, and the energy and enthusiasm of the performers is infectious. There is also some very non-traditional percussion: a trolley which … [Read More]
Korean performers and artists at Edinburgh Fringe 2016
Once again there’s a strong Korean showing at the Fringe this year. It’s particularly nice to see Modl Theatre in the UK again, this time with three productions. Two of them are geared towards families and children, but the third is a something darker: a new and topical production on the theme of the wartime … [Read More]
Event news: K-music 2015 — Noreum Machi, 20 Sept
A fun evening of percussion with plenty of visual excitement too: K-Music: Noreum Machi Sunday 20 September | 8:00PM LONDON Kings Place (Hall Two) | 90 York Way | London N1 9AG £10 + Booking fee There’s a theatrical strand to a lot of Korean music and, for more than 20 years, Noreum Machi have … [Read More]
Dulsori in Evelyn Glennie’s Songlines playlist
I’ve just belatedly been going through my recent purchases of Songlines magazine, the world music publication which gave Hyelim Kim a 4-star review this time last year. I spotted that their October 2014 edition featured a playlist recommended by Evelyn Glennie – of which the first track was by the Korean percussion group Dulsori: Drum … [Read More]
Leodo: Paradise Lost — Norian Maro returns to the Fringe
Here’s the official press release for Norian Maro’s 2014 Edinburgh Fringe production Leodo: Paradise Lost. The show has developed out of last year’s production, Pudasi, which LKL reviewed here. The Stage has already given this year’s upgraded version a four-star review: “The talented seven-member ensemble never flags in energy, choreographic skill or audience engagement” The … [Read More]
The Sounds of Korea: Old and New, East and West – at SOAS
After last year’s successful and varied concert, the SOAS Korean Drumming Society and friends return for another evening of Korean music. This year we get a rare opportunity to hear some Yun Isang. The Sounds of Korea: Old and New, East and West The SOAS Korean Drumming Society Date: 9 June 2013, 7.00 pm Venue: … [Read More]
KAA’s 합, 合, Collaboration programme: the opening performance
As in previous years, the KAA’s residency at the KCC launches with a varied programme of music and performance during the opening festivities on 28 August. Pre-registration is required via [email protected]. See details of the main event here. And the programme for the performance is as follows: Collaborative Performance 1. ‘Petal – like’ (꽃잎처럼) Poem … [Read More]
Samulnori, sanjo and jazz from the SOAS Korean Drumming Society
The SOAS Korean Drumming Society gave an interesting and varied recital in the Lucas Lecture theatre on Monday 3 June. After a daegeum sanjo from Kim Hyelim, accompanied by Keith Howard on changgo, we had a very effective jazz improvisation by Choi Jeung-hyun (changgo) with Shzr Ee Tan (piano) using two samulnori rhythms, the daseureum … [Read More]
The Cool Beat of Korea – a concert by the SOAS Korean Drumming Society
Samulnori, daegeum sanjo and more at an early summer recital at SOAS: The Cool Beat of Korea Date: Monday 3 June 2013, 7:30-8:30 pm. Venue: Lucas Lecture Theatre [formerly G2], SOAS Main Building. Tickets: Free admission. Guests are admitted from 7 pm to be seated for 7.30pm This is an attractive and dynamic drumming concert … [Read More]
All Eyes on Korea: consistent investment in the performing arts brings its rewards
The London 2012 Olympics was around a decade in the making: preparation of the bid, building the venue itself and putting in place the infrastructure required to run a successful games. And for the last couple of years of that preparation time, a separate team of hard-working organisers from the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports … [Read More]
Gong Myoung: Walkabout at the South bank
The second of the music performances in the All Eyes on Korea festival is Gong Myoung – at heart a percussion band, but the genres range much more broadly than that: Gong Myoung: Walkabout Date: 28 July 2012, 7:45pm Venue: Purcell Room GongMyoung, meaning ‘resonance’, is a quartet that presents traditional Korean music with a … [Read More]