KOREN MUSIC & BEYOND Comes to Roulette

This entrancing program of traditional Korean music (rooted in shamanic rituals and agrarian life) and contemporary music influenced by Korean culture is led by the engaging multi-instrumentalist gamin. She is a recognized Yisuja (master) on three traditional wind instruments (piri -double-reed oboe, saenghwang - mouth organ, and taepyungso - double-reed horn). Her extensive credits include being a principal player at the National Gugak Orchestra for a decade, performing in the Silk Road concert with Yo-Yo Ma in Seoul, and touring the world. The program features improvised music for rituals, percussive farmers' music, and modern works. gamin will be joined by Satoshi Takeishi (percussion), Vong Pak (janggo - drum), Jeff Fairbanks (piano, trombone), Choi Fairbanks (cello), and Marty Ehrlich (bass clarinet, saxophone).

The first part of the program features traditional music: Seol-Janggo, which derives from the rural and itinerant percussion performance group tradition (pungmul); Taepyungso, music with the melodic instrument that accompanies the percussion band; and Sinawi, improvised music for ritual that is influenced by shamanic groove and melody from Korea. Sinawi is one of the most important repertoires of traditional Korean folk music.

The second part of the program features contemporary music: gamin's The Strangers, which reflects the sounds and characteristics of birds in nature, combining sinawi, a more structured form of improvisation, with jazz; Jungmori Blues, composed by gamin and Ned Rothenberg for piri/taepyungso, bass clarinet/saxophone, and percussion; and three works for Korean and Western instruments composed by Jeff Fairbanks - Echoes, Mt. Beacon, and Sangjo Sanjo.

gamin, a distinguished Korean-born New York-based multi-instrumentalist specializing in traditional Korean wind instruments, has toured the world performing both traditional Korean music and cross-disciplinary collaborations with acclaimed musicians. She received her Doctorate in Musical Arts in Korean traditional music at Seoul National University, and is a designated Yisuja, official holder of Important Intangible Cultural Asset No. 46 for Court and Royal Military music. From 2000 to 2010, she was a principal player at the National Gugak Orchestra, and in recent years premiered her newest solos with the Korea Symphony, the Seoul Philharmonic, and the National Gugak Orchestra. She has received various grants from the Asian Cultural Council, Rockefeller University, Brandeis University, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports, Tourism of the Republic of Korea. For 2021-2022, she was awarded a prestigious two-year fellowship by the Jerome Hill Foundation. In addition to her artistic endeavors, she dedicates herself to academic research activities. She has presented lecture/concerts at Harvard and Dartmouth, and in Paris, Strasbourg, and Freiburg.

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