One of the most iconic programs at Northern Illinois University is about to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The School of Music boasts one of the most diverse, comprehensive and accomplished world music programs in the nation, and a week long celebration kicks off exactly 50 years to the day of the first world music concert in NIU’s history.
The first-ever concert, April 8, 1975, was an ambitious undertaking featuring Chinese, Korean, Indonesian, Thai, Indian, Yugoslavian, African, North American, Caribbean and other musical cultures. Before playing, musicians briefly discussed the origin, social function and learning method of their instruments. It was a completely new experience for the students and audience, as many of the instruments and musical styles had never been seen or heard by them before. The crowd responded enthusiastically, setting the tone for the success of world music concerts to follow.
Kuo-Huang Han, a native of China who was raised in Taiwan was the driving force behind the creation of the world music program at NIU and the founder of its first group, The Asian Music Ensemble which debuted in 1975. Han, who was professor of music at NIU for more than 30 years, said that the audience for the first-ever world music concert was larger than expected. Some of it was likely due to the curiosity of students and area residents in hearing music from around the world. But Han suspected that a typo in that week’s DeKalb Daily-Chronicle didn’t hurt the turnout.
In an interview with NIU Professor of Music Jui-Ching Wang, the current head of the world music program, Han explained that he enlisted the help of music composition student Jeff Abell to help create interest in the concert by coming up with a name. Because of the varied nature of musical styles and cultures they settled on Musica Exotica. They were delighted that the DeKalb Daily-Chronicle wrote an article about the concert, and amused by the one little mistake in the text.
“The Northern Illinois University Department of Music will present a unique recital, believed to be the first of its kind in Illinois, April 8, 8:30 p.m. in the new Music Building Recital Hall. ‘Musica Erotica’ is an informal recital of world music.”
Oh what a difference a letter makes.
“No wonder it was a full house,” Han said.
Musica Exotica continued in that format for a decade before adopting the title “A Concert of World Music” in 1984, and has grown into the World Music Festival that continues on to this day. Crowd sizes continued to grow and the concerts eventually had to be moved from the Recital Hall to the much larger Boutell Memorial Concert Hall next door.
NIU currently boasts seven world music ensembles that include the Chinese Music Ensemble, Thai Ensemble, Middle Eastern Ensemble, Gamelan, Korean Drumming, Banda NIU and Mariachi NIU.
The 50th anniversary will be celebrated with a week’s worth of concerts, plus a four-day World Music Symposium focused on providing “perspective and reflection on teaching world music in the 21st century.”
All 2025 NIU World Music Festival performances are free and open to the public.
This year’s festival includes:
Tuesday, April 8
7:30 p.m., Boutell Memorial Concert Hall
From the Exotic to the Global Concert I – Opening Concert
Wednesday April 9
Noon, NIU’s Martin Luther King Jr. Commons
Lunchtime Concert
NIU Korean Drumming Ensemble
8 p.m., NIU Recital Hall
From the Exotic to the Global Concert II – Roaming in Between
Thursday, April 10
Noon, NIU Recital Hall
Lunchtime Concert Sounds of the Balkans
Balkanalia, University of Illinois Balkan Music Ensemble
5:15 p.m., NIU Recital Hall
Toyoaki Shamisen: Tradition Progressing
Toyoaki Shamisen (Tatsu Aoki)
8 p.m., NIU Recital Hall
From the Exotic to the Global Concert III – The Third Space
Friday, April 11
Noon, Lawn Area Between NIU Music and Visual Arts Buildings
Closing Concert
The World Music Symposium is sponsored by the Korean Performing Arts Institute of Chicago, and a number of NIU entities including the School of Music, Latino Resource Center, School of Art and Design, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Asian American Studies Certificate Program, Division of Academic Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Founders Memorial Library and Friends of NIU Libraries.
