Kim, Jin
Kim, Jin
Kim, Jin Hi, talented South Korean composer and komungo player; b. Inchon, Feb. 6, 1958. She studied in Seoul at the National Univ. (1976–80), then went to the U.S., where she studied composition with Adams at the San Francisco Cons, of Music (1980–81) and electronic and ethnic music at Mills Coll. in Oakland, Calif. (M.F.A., 1985); she also had private lessons on the Indian bansun (bamboo flute) and the Chineze gu-chin (7-string zither), and studied gagaku noh kabuji (South Eastern Asian mask dance theater). Kim attemps to integrate the “living tones” concept of traditional Korean music within a contemporary perspective in her bi-cultural compositions, frequently combining native Korean and Western instruments; notable among these works are Nong Rock for Komungo (a 6-stringed Korean zither) and String Quartet (1992), Piri Quartet for 3 Piri (a Koream double reed instrument) and Oboe or English Horn (1993), Tchong for Daegum (a Korean membrane bamboo flute; 1993), and Yoeum for Korean Male Kagok Singer and Western Male Voice (1993); the precariously hovering and often luminous sonorities that emanate from her juxtaposed atonal and microtonal structures blend the best of the East and the New West. Kim has internationally pioneered in performance on the komungo; her solo and collaborative improvisations on the komungo are spare, gestural, and formal, ever respectful of the meditative origins of the instrument. Kim also co-built the first electric komungo and electric changgo, both interractive with computer systems. She has received awards and commissions from numerous organizations, including the NEA (1991), the N.Y. State Council on the Arts (1994), and the Rockefeller Foundation (1995), among many others. In 1995 she was composer-in-residence at the Djerassi Resident Artists program in Woodside, Calif. In 1995 she began work on her first multi-cultural music and dance theater piece, Dragon Bond Rite, based on Japanese noh theatre, which will feature Korean, Japanese, Indian, Indonesian, and Mongolain artists at its 1996 premiere at N.Y/s Japan Society.
Works
The Spider’s Web for Kayagum, Yangkum, Daegum, Ajang, Piri, and Percussion (1978); Yopo for Flute, Ajang, Yangkum, and 2 Daegums (1980); Kee Maek No. 1 for Bamboo Flutes and Percussion (1980), No. 2 for Violin (N.Y., April 22, 1986), No. 3 for Violin and Cello (Los Angeles, Nov. 29, 1989), No. 4 for Viola and Cello (N.Y., March 9, 1988), and No. 5 for Cello (1995); Woon for Chamber Ensemble (1981); Movement and Resonance for Dancer with 10 Asian Gongs (Oakland, Calif., Feb. 22, 1985); x4for solo violin (San Francisco, Sept. 18, 1985); Jinyang Delay, Kayagum improvisation with Electronics (N.Y., April 22, 1986); Bamboo Permutations No. 1 for Prerecorded Bamboo Flutes and Digital Sampling Keyboard (San Francisco, Nov. 16, 1985); Su Wol Yong Yul for Computer-generated Tape, Harpsichord, and Cello (Oakland, Calif., Feb. 22, 1985; based on a 15th-century treatise about Korean music); x5 for solo flute for Alto and Soprano Flutes and Piccolos and Prerecorded Tape (N.Y., Oct. 7, 1986); Tehjoo Goong for Komungo and Alto Flute (N.Y., Nov. 18, 1986); Linking for String Quartet (1986); Komungo Permutations No. 1 for Synthesizer (1988); Tchong No. 1 for Komungo and Flute (N.Y., March 9, 1988), No. 2 for Prepared Flute (Los Angeles, June 22, 1989), and No. 3 for Korean Mabrain Bamboo Flute and Western Flutes (Los Angeles, April 11, 1995); Dasrum for Komungo, Clarinet, and Cello (N.Y., Oct. 17, 1988); Liquid Migration for Viola, Cello, and Piano (Middle-town, Conn., March 28, 1990); Refracted Confluence for Komungo and Computer (San Francisco, Feb. 3, 1991); Nong Rock for Komungo and String Quartet (N.Y., Feb. 15, 1992); Piri Quartet for 3 Piri and English Horn/Oboe (1993); Electric Changgo Permutations for MAX Computer System (N.Y., March 1994); Yoeum for Korean Male Kagok Singer and Western Male Voice (N.Y., April 1995); Dragon Bond Rite, multi-cultural music and mask dance theater piece (1995–96).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire