“Traversing Chosŏn Society through Music”

Please join us for a special performance by: Gamin Kang, piri, saenghwang and taepyeongso soloist

Followed by Q&A with Hye Eun Choi, Visiting Scholar, Columbia University

About the performer: Gamin Kang, simply known as “gamin,” a distinguished NYC soloist, tours the world performing both traditional Korean music and cross-disciplinary collaborations. Born in Seoul, gamin received her B.A. (1998) and Doctor of Musical Arts (2016) in Korean music from Seoul National University. Gamin plays piri (double reed Korean oboe), taepyeonso (double-reed horn), and saenghwang (mouth organ). She is a designated Yisuja, official holder of Important Intangible Cultural Asset No. 46 for Court and Royal Military music. Gamin was second principal piri player at National Gugak Orchestra, 2004-10.

Re-inventing new sonorities from ancient, somewhat restrictive, musical systems, gamin has received several cultural exchange program grants, including Artist-in-Residence (2014) at the Asian Cultural Council, Rockefeller U., and Ministry of Culture, Sports, Tourism of Republic of Korea (2012). She has presented lecture/concerts at Harvard and Dartmouth, and in Paris, Strasbourg, and Freiburg. Gamin has collaborated in cross-cultural improvisation in NYC with world-acclaimed musician Jane Ira Bloom, presenting premieres at Roulette Theater, New School, and Metropolitan Museum, NYC. Gamin was featured artist at the Silkroad concert, Seoul, 2018, performing on-stage with Yo-Yo Ma.

In addition to 5 CD’s, gamin digitally released “Attraction,” traditional solo music for piri. All About Jazz (2014) praised “…the most haunting track, the elegiac Jeongseon Arirang, played by gamin on piri…” Gamin’s latest recording comprises improvs with today’s most innovative musicians, including Ned Rothenberg. Gamin premiered her newest solos, performed by Korea Symphony (2016), Seoul Philharmonic (2015), and National Gugak Orchestra (2019).
Gamin was visiting scholar at James Joo-Jin Kim Program in Korean Studies, U. of Pennsylvania, 2018.

Closing out 2019, gamin will be Artist-in-Residence at Brandeis U., and continue her tour to Mexico City, Berlin, and Seoul. In March 2020, gamin will perform her Carnegie Hall début with the Nangye Gugak Orchestra.

This is a Center for Korean Research Arts and Culture Event. No registration required.

For press inquiries, please contact Ariana King ak4364@columbia.edu.
Cosponsored by: The Academy of Korean Studies, Seoul Korea; Columbia Alumni Association, Korea; the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, The Department of Music.