No World Improvisations to perform at art summit

JAKARTA (JP): A two-night performance by four internationally acclaimed musicians grouped in No World Improvisations will provide a compelling experience for both local artists and the audience alike.

No World Improvisations will bring music and instruments from three continents into the Taman Ismail Marzuki art center in Central Jakarta when they perform there on Wednesday and Thursday at the Second Art Summit Indonesia 1998.

Founded in l992 by contemporary American composer and musician Joseph Celli, No World Improvisations is a multi-cultural ensemble featuring virtuosi from Asia, Africa and America. They perform works and improvisations which emanate from the roots of these cultures.

"Here are four musicians who have been thoroughly trained within their own cultures. We have come together with mutual respect for each others' cultures and we have created something new," Celli said.

The four musicians are Joseph Celli (double-reed instrument), Jin Hi Kim from South Korea (traditional and electric komungo, ancient Korean zither), Min Xiao Fen from China (pipa) and percussionist Mor Thiam from Senegal.

The musicians play a variety of instruments dating as far back as 3,000 years. The instruments used include double reed folk instruments from India, the world's only electric komungo (developed by Jin Hi Kim), the Chinese pipa and African drums.

As the recipients of international acclaim, both individually and collectively, No World Improvisations have performed around the globe in places such as Lima, Moscow, Berlin, Seoul, Nanjing and New York.

In their performance here, No World Improvisations will play a variety of compositions including Silky Stream (komungo and pipa), Voices of Us II, In and Out (Electric komungo and MIDI breath controller), Time Out (quartet) and It Goes By (quartet).

Joseph Celli, the founder of No World Improvisations, has been at the forefront of recent developments in contemporary music and instrumental techniques. He has toured with Kronos String Quartet and John Cage and has worked with jazz legend Ornette Coleman. He performs on double reed instruments from around the world.

In addition to Celli is the famous Korean musician and composer Jin Hi Kim. Jin Hi Kim arrived in San Francisco, fully trained in traditional Korean classical music, in 1980. She is a graduate of the prestigious National High School for Korean Music and also holds a postgraduate degree from Seoul National University.

After studying at the San Francisco Conservatory for music and Mills College of Music, Jin Hi Kim embarked on a path she had decided to follow before leaving South Korea.

She said that most of her women peers dropped out of the South Korean music scene to get married to raise families, adding that a few went on to teach music. But for Jin Hi Kim, although learning Korean classical music and mastering the Komungo is an education she values highly, it was not enough. She wanted to learn more and create something new with the ancient instrument.

"When I left Korea I already wanted to do something different. I really wanted to combine Western and Korean music," she said.

It may seem a long way from the ancient meditative tones of Korea's komungo to today's existential music of the West, but Jin Hi Kim is striving to bridge that daunting musical gap.

She has used her ancient Korean musical instrument in performances with jazz musicians, computer musicians, contemporary classical musicians, string quartets and others in the experimental field.

The Komungo is the oldest known instrument in Korean culture, dating back to the year 37 B.C. Its history is deeply embedded in a once strictly Confucian society. Male Confucian scholars used the Komungo in meditation and its sounds were never heard beyond the walls of royal courts. Today, Jin Hi Kim is one of the very few female masters of the komungo.

Another member of the No World Improvisations, Min Xiao-Fen, was hailed by the Asia Society as being "a great virtuoso on the pipa." Min is considered one of the most outstanding pipa soloists alive today and is a master of contemporary as well as traditional pipa music. She began learning about this string instrument at the age of twelve from her father Prof. Min Ji- Qian, himself a noted master of the pipa, in Nanjing, China. Before arriving in the United States in l992, Min was pipa soloist with the Nanjing National Music Orchestra.

Percussionist Mor Thiam was born in Dhakar in Senegal, Africa, and is a descendant of the Dogon Tribe. He was born into a family with a history, and who used the drum to give life to their story and the story of the Wollif people of Senegal.

He has been playing drums since the age of eight and has taught drums at many major universities in Africa and the United States, including the University of Dhakar in Senegal, and Miami University, Boston University and Howard University in the United States.

The performances of No World Improvisations have been widely reviewed by noted music critics such as Jon Parales from The New York Times.

Parales once described the sounds produced by No World Improvisations as bringing "heightened awareness of the nuances of sound and the suspense within each players' choice and reactions."

Celli added, "We want to plant a seed. The intention is to bring about a better understanding of cultural diversity through music."

Their work is designed to give people an opportunity to experience a wide range of music from around the world. (raw)