WOMEX

WOMEX 10 OPENING CONCERT

WHO IS COMING LIST NOW ONLINE

VIRTUALWOMEX RELAUNCH




Dear Media Colleagues,

WOMEX is delighted to make its second major programme announcement and none other than a special, exclusive event for the Opening Concert: The Chaosmos of Korean Music: Heaven, Earth, and Human, presented in association with the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism of the republic of Korea and the Korea Arts Management Service.

WOMEX 10 OPENING CONCERT


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High-res press photo for Opening Concert here
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The white nights in Denmark will bring a magical experience to the WOMEX 10 Opening in Copenhagen: a gathering of some of the finest bands on the contemporary Korean music scene, take to the stage on the evening of Wednesday, 27 Oct in Danish Broadcasting's Koncerthuset. Tori Ensemble, Be-Being and Baramgot will reveal innovative renditions of traditional music from their homeland, presenting melodies and instruments that have been hidden too long from audiences in Europe. The high-profile Jean Nouvel concert venue in Copenhagen, afforded WOMEX delegates and artists with supreme sound conditions last year and once again will house all WOMEX nighttime performances under one roof.

The following provides a brief guide to the concepts powering Korean music. Read on for more details...

  • The Chaosmos of Korean Music: Heaven, Earth, and Human
    • Images of modern Korea come in fragmentary news clips for most people on the other side of the world: tension along the North-South border; reports of rapid economic development; or a midfielder for Manchester United, who seems to surge out of nowhere to score vital goals. But in the world of music, the native sounds of Korea still remain largely unheard, despite a 5,000-year history strikingly distinct from its Asian neighbours. Just as Ji-Sung Park’s sporting skills won over European football fans, the vitality of Korean music will come as a pleasant surprise to the uninitiated when WOMEX 2010 places it in the spotlight this October.

  • The Chaosmos of Korean Music
    • According to ancient Korean texts, our universe originated from sounds. In other words, in Korea sounds represent the world of Chaosmos where Cosmos and Chaos were intermingled before the birth of the universe. Chaosmos is an aesthetic that engenders a unique philosophy of sound that invokes dynamic changes and raises awareness.

    In this Global Era when civilisation and industrialisation are bringing unprecedented accomplishments and demands, some Koreans are reviving sounds endemic to their ancestors’ music to re-awaken waning spiritual values.

    At the WOMEX opening, guests can enjoy the fruit of these musicians’ labour in works based on the three elements of the universe: Heaven, Earth and Human - the Chaosmos of Korean Music. Korea’s spiritual flow stems from Taoism, Buddhism, and Shamanism. Together, they are the basis for the country’s philosophy and arts. Folk songs are one of the musical incarnations of this melding of ideas, but they have never been comprehensively introduced to the world music scene. These young Korean masters will guide listeners through the mystic, dynamic sounds of their traditional music.

  • Music of Heaven :
    • Tori Ensemble brings back the geomungo (the large and characterful deep-stringed zither) and traditional gagok songs. For classical scholars, music cultivated the mind, and the geomungo was their favourite means. They practiced music in order to reach a divine mental state – one closer to heaven and the spiritual world. The leader of Tori Ensemble, Heo Yoon-jeong, is a geomungo master. His work has been featured on the BBC on Charlie Gillett’s World of Music.

  • Music of Earth :
    • Buddhism has long been one of Korea’s main religions, and Buddhist music is now designated as an important intangible cultural asset. In their piece "Yi and Sa," Be-Being gives a modern interpretation to Buddhist music and its ritual dances jakbeop and barachum, successfully combining the traditional and the contemporary. Be-Being's leader JANG Yeong-Gyu has been called a "musical guerrilla." He is an active composer and performer working across various genres including popular music, soundtracks and contemporary dance, having worked with such notables as Pina Bausch.

  • Music of Human:
    • Shamanism plays a key role in Korean music, and sinawi is the music that traditionally accompanies the rites of Korean shamanism. Led by Won Il, a composer and piri (Korean double-reed oboe) performer, the traditional ensemble Baramgot exhibits the unique tones and rhythms within the wide spectrum of various traditional instruments, to give Sinawi a modern spirit. Their lively improvisation is providing an indispensable contemporary approach to playing and understanding gukak (Korean traditional music).

  • Chaosmos Jam Concert:
    • In this jam session, Tori Ensemble, Be-Being, and Baramgot present an unusual mix of original Korean vocals, dynamic percussion and unique traditional instruments. The stage represents the world of Chaosmos where Heaven, Earth and Human are drawn into harmonious communication by uniting the connections and the philosophical elements that each embodies. Their jam sessions will provide an arena for musicians from around the world to encounter Korean music.

The WOMEX 2010 Opening Concert, “The Chaosmos of Korean Music: Heaven, Earth and Human” was made possible by WOMEX and world music experts from several countries who have been researching Korean music since 2008. The performance will be organised with support from the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism of the republic of Korea and the Korea Arts Management Service.

For more information, please click here.

'WHO IS COMING' LIST NOW ONLINE


WOMEX 10 registration numbers are advancing every day and we now have a page on our website featuring all WOMEX 10 participants who are signed up and paid.

Scroll down the page to see the list of companies or individuals. A click on any entry will bring up their contact details and profile information on virtualWOMEX. Use this tool to prepare for WOMEX 10 ahead of time: see who else is attending, make contacts and set up appointments ahead of time.
Just make sure you are logged in to your virtualWOMEX account.

This is all part of our enhanced virtualWOMEX, which is free to all current delegates and has very recently been relaunched with many new features. If you haven't had a look, take the opportunity to browse the platform and use this vital tool for the professional world music community.

virtualWOMEX RELAUNCH


As mentioned above, we are very happy to announce the launch of a new version of virtualWOMEX. Among many performance improvements running in the back office, version 2.1 features some new tools for the users, including:
  • Integration with social media
  • Video upload
  • E-mail through virtualWOMEX
  • RSS feeds
  • Maps
  • Advanced search for all categories

Further details on the new items here.


Best regards from your WOMEX team in Berlin,


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WOMEX '10 Copenhagen / 27 - 31 October 2010
Do Business, Catch Up, and Get Ahead!

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