With great anticipation, I am heading to Seoul for ten days’ intensive study of gugak, traditional Korean instruments and musical genres, through a workshop offered by the National Gugak Center. Having been to Korea many times, I’ve become enamored of its traditional culture and the many colorful, evocative kids of music found there. Already I’ve composed MUDANG (“shaman”) for piri and string quartet, based on principles of sanjo. With the opportunity to study more instruments and genres in depth, I can only imagine what new musical influences will find their way into my music!
