World Music Concert Series

Music of East Asia

Wednesday, November 19, 2025
7:00 pm
Recital Hall

Korean Drumming Ensemble
Suwan Choi, director

Chinese Music Ensemble
Wei Yang and Jui-Ching Wang, directors

Japanese Music Ensemble
Nan Yamprai, director

Music of East Asia Class
Hyunchae Kim and Jui-Ching Wang, instructors

Special Guests
Hong Da Chin, dizi
Hyunchae Kim, gayageum
Amely Zhou, erhu

Program

Korean Drumming Ensemble

After a semester piloting the course in Spring 2021, NIU is proud to launch the first Korean Drumming Ensemble as the foundation to initiate a traditional Korean music program with the generous sponsorship from Korean National University of Arts in Seoul, South Korea and Korean Performing Arts Institute in Chicago (KAPC). Under the direction of master percussionist, Suwan Choi, the NIU Korean Drumming Ensemble teaches traditional Pungmul style and contemporary stage performance of Samulnori. This ensemble is open to all interested, no pre-music knowledge/skills required. For more information about this course, please contact director, Suwan Choi (suwan.choii@gmail.com).

Members
Suwan Choi, Rowan Carter, Kacee Dugas, Fernando Marroquin Mendoza, Olive Wynn, Elizabeth Vieyra, Matthew Zelkowitz, Lydia Ziegler

Chinese Music Ensemble

The Chinese Music Ensemble was one of the first college Chinese music groups in the U.S. and currently is the only one in Illinois. Established by Professor Emeritus Kuo-Huang Han in the 1970s, it gave several national and international concert performances between 1976 and 1978. Members of the ensemble learn to play assorted authentic Chinese instruments.

Individual lessons and group rehearsals make up the major part of the curriculum, and Chinese musical instruments are available for short-term loan on a semester basis. In addition, members of the ensemble will also be introduced to basic Chinese music theory, the standard repertoire of Chinese instrumental and chamber music, and knowledge about performance practice along with the aesthetic values and symbolism of Chinese traditional music.

Members
Dizi: Hong-Da Chin*, Elizabeth Vieyra
Erhu: Kacee Dugas, Delaney Jacobi, Mei Lin McDermott, Gabriel Roethle, Jui-Ching Wang, Amely Zhou*
Pipa: Quentin Dover*, Totus Tuus Keely, Felix Podschweit, Wei Yang
Ruan: Brien Carney, Victor Wright
Yangqin: Patcharita Pankaew
Guzheng: Emma Bell, Aftyn Morris
Cello: Zih-Cian Yu
Percussion: Felix Podschweit

Japanese Music Ensemble

In Fall 2024, the NIU Japanese Music Ensemble is formed in the tradition of Sankyoku ensemble, which has its roots in the Edo period of Japan. The three instruments: koto (zither), shamisen (lute), and shakuhachi (bamboo flute) have great importance in Japan’s socio-cultural heritage. Continuing this tradition while embracing Japanese contemporary culture, students in the Japanese music ensemble engage in and learn not only from classical repertoires but also folk songs, theatrical arts, contemporary works, and popular music such as anime soundtrack. 

Members
Koto: Fernando Marroquin Mendoza, Patcharita Pankaew, Emma Bell, Silas Ashby
Shamisen: Gabriel Roethle, Elizabeth Vieyra, Savannah Lisner-Johnson, Totus Tuus Keely, Sofia
Diaz, Kacee Dugas, Zih-Cian Yu
Shakuhachi: Nam Yamprai, Margaret Alway, Olive Wynn
Shinobue: Jacob Seabrook
Piano: Olive Wynn

Music of East Asia Class (Fall 2025)

A cross-cultural, comparative survey of both historical and recent developments in the music of East Asia, including the relationship of music to other aspects of East Asian cultures-philosophy, religion, theater, and dance, this course explores the diverse musical traditions of East Asia, focusing on China and Korea. Focusing on both historical and contemporary developments, this course also explores the relationship between East Asian music and other cultural aspects, such as philosophy, religion, politics, and other artistic genres including literature, theater, and dance. Music is approached as it is practiced, and as a lens for examining social and cultural forces that shape it. This course consists of two components, lectures and hands-on experiences, to allow students to apply what is learned in lectures in the actual musicking activities that take place on a weekly basis.

Members
Kayla Bivin (clarinet), Sam Dion (ruan), Kacee Dugas (cello), Laura Gonzalez (violin), Jonluca Laporte (horn), Emvi Nullas Legaspi (vocal), Chenoa Randolph (vocal), Elizabeth Vieyra (dizi), with the assistance of Hyunchae