Concert Program

World Music Festival Concert Series

Sonic Tapestry: Global Traditions and Cultural Crossroads

Jui-Ching Wang, director

Saturday, April 11, 2026
3 pm
Boutell Memorial Concert Hall

Program

Korean Pungmul
Gilnori Pangut
Seoljanggu
Korean Drumming Ensemble, Suwan Choi (director)

Chinese Music
Boatman’s Song (撐船調)
Becoming the Wind (Kaze no naru,  風になる) arr. Taylor Atkins
Springtime Hills (滿山春色)

Chinese Music Ensemble, Wei Yang (director)
with guest performers
Taylor Atkins*, Jodeen Coulter*, Eric Schroeder*, and Sophia Varcados*, ukulele

Thai/Lao Music
Ponglang Music
แมงภูตอมดอก “Mang Pu Tom Dok”
Ponglang Ensemble, Chamni Sripraram (director)

Afro Cuban Folklore
Bembe for Ellegua, Guiro for Ogun, Palo, Zaouli
Afro-Latin Music & the Diaspora Movements Class, Jean-Christophe Leroy (director)

Mariachi
El Jaliscience
Ojitos Verdes
El Autlense
Trompetas Del Diablo
Y

Mariachi NIU, Jose Antonio Ozuna (director)
with guest performers from Mariachi Los Pumas*

Banda
Arriba Pichátaro
El Pato Asado
El Ahualulco
Los Amores de Julia
La Cuichi

Banda NIU,  Roberto De Leon (director)

Ensemble Information

Korean Drumming Ensemble, Suwan Choi
Sponsored by Korean Performing Arts Institute of Chicago (KPAC), NIU Korean Drumming Ensemble teaches two performance genres derived from Pungmul (Korean traditional folk music), Seoljanggu and Samulnori. Seoljanggu is a collection of janggu (hourglass-shaped drum) rhythms, while Samulnori is a percussion quartet consisting of four instruments, two gongs and two drums. In this ensemble, students will learn to play assorted percussion instruments in traditional style and to create their own Samulnori rhythms.

Members
Emma Cho, Jovana Cortez, Kacee Dugas, EmVi Nullas Legaspi, Elizabeth Vieyra, Matthew Zelkowitz, Lydia Ziegler, Suwan Choi

Ponglang Ensemble, Chamni Sripraram
Under the direction of Thai music specialist Chamni Sripraram, the Ponglang Ensemble serves as a vital component of the Thai Music Program, actively providing performances and educational workshops throughout the Northern Illinois region. Through the generous support of Professor Emeritus Dr. John F. Hartmann and the NIU Center for Southeast Asian Studies, the program offers students of all academic disciplines the opportunity to engage with diverse Thai musical traditions. The curriculum spans the classical court styles—including piphat, mahori, and khrueang sai—as well as the vibrant northeastern folkloric traditions exemplified by the ponglang ensemble.

Members
Emma Bell, Elizabeth Nowak: polang
Gabriel Roethle: khaen
Samantha Harrison, Corinn Schusteff: wot
Lydia Guelde: pin (bass)Chamni Sripraram: pin
Patcharita Pankaew: klong tum
Silas Ashby: chap lek
Riley Podschweit: chap yai
John Philip Lockard: ching
Brockton Eliot Shipley: krup

Chinese Music Ensemble, Wei Yang
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

*indicates guest performer; + section leader

Afro-Latin Music & the Diaspora Movements Class, Jean-Christophe Leroy
The purpose of this course is to examine how multiple African musical traditions were brought to Latin America as result of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Through listening, discussion and most importantly playing and singing, students experience firsthand what it is to be a part of these music-making traditions, gain an understanding of how each of these musical forms is constructed and examine the similarities and differences among them.

Members
Francisco Aguilar, Silas Ashby, D’Andrae Atkins, Keon Baptiste, Jenna Brown, Connor Butler, Will Carr, Danny Clements, Josiah Didier, Kacee Dugas, Brayden Dulin, Alex Dunal, Kaylie Emmer, Talia Grzelak, Tiajuana Hernandez, Delaney Jacobi, Emil Lockett, Jonathan Lucke,  Jacob Morgan, Cameron Neis, Phil Pistone,  Riley Podschweit, Jared Schultz, Morgan Tipton, John Wolff, Matthew Zelkowitz

Mariachi NIU, Jose Antonio Ozuna
Founded on the principles of inclusivity and artistic excellence, Mariachi NIU brings together NIU students and community members to celebrate the rich musical heritage of Mexico. We invite everyone with experience in violin, trumpet, guitar, vihuela, guitarrón, or harp and singing to join our ranks. The ensemble dedicates itself to bringing the spirit of Mexico to the great Chicago land through educational workshops, community festivals, and seasonal showcases.

Members

Banda NIU, Roberto De Leon
Banda NIU is an ensemble that honors the tradition of the great bandas from Mexico and performs styles from across Latin America. Its long and rich history is drawn on collaboration between European immigrants to Mexico in the 1800s and popular Mexican song. The most popular subgenre of regional Mexican music, Banda relies solely on an instrumentation of wind instruments. It is open to all students and anyone in the northern Illinois community. Interested musicians should be able to read music and have considerable performance experience on clarinet, trumpet, trombone, tuba/sousaphone, drums, percussion or voice.

Members

+ denotes section leader

Acknowledgements

The 2026 World Music Festival is made possible by the generous support from the following NIU units: School of Music, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Asian American Studies Certificate Program, and the Division of Academic Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. We would also like to express our gratitude to the following individuals for the gifts they have shared with us this past year to help NIU students expand their cultural horizon through music: Dr. Byoung Sug Kim (Korean Performing Arts Institute of Chicago), Dr. John F Hartmann, and Dr. Kuo-Huang Han.