Musicians from 6 Asian nations to perform

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Musicians from 6 Asian nations to perform

Next week, 11 traditional musicians from six Asian nations will merge the sounds of Asia using traditional musical instruments. The performance, titled “Scent of Asia,” is part of a one-year project ― the “National Theater of Korea Invitational Workshop for Traditional Musicians.”
The concert will consist of three sections: Kang Eun-il will play the haegeum (Korean fiddle) and the traditional instruments of the other five nations will be introduced; the 10 musicians from Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Mongolia and the Philippines will play separately and together, then all will perform together with the National Orchestra Company of Korea and The Forest, a Korean fusion music group.
Tserennadmid Chuluunntsetseg, Buyankhishig Togtokhjargal and Khasbat Barkhuu from Mongolia will play their traditional musical instruments, the morinhuur, yochin and shunz. The morinhuur is a two-stringed cello with a deep sound. The yochin, which looks like a xylophone, originated in Persia (now known as Iran), and Mongolians used to play it while on horses, racing. The shunz is a three-stringed instrument, crossing three octaves, that is used for modern as well as traditional music.
Nguyen Thi Hong Le, Phan Thi Thanh Van, Vu Thi Viet Hong and Le Hoai Phuong from Vietnam will play stringed instruments ― the dan bau (one-string), dan tranh (16-strings), dan tyba (four-strings) and dan thap luc (36-strings).
Roslan Bin Harun from Malaysia will play the serunai (wind instrument), which descended from the Persian surnay, solo, and the rebana (traditional drum) as part of an ensemble. As Islamic, Chinese and Indian cultures mix in Malaysia, the music also embraces Islamic melody and folk music.
Hlaing Win Maung from Myanmar will play the saun, a 16-stringed harp that has been used since the 10th century.
Luther Lechoco Ternal from the Philippines will play the banduria, a 14-stringed guitar.
Vu Thi Viet Hong from Vietnam said that there are many similarities between Vietnamese and Korean music. The sad sound of the gayageum (12-stringed Korean harp) in a slow tempo is similar to that of her dan tranh, she added. She said she wants to learn more about Korean culture while staying here, and hopes the Korean audience will be interested in Vietnamese music even though it’s not yet familiar to them.


by Park Sung-ha

“Scent of Asia” will be performed at 8 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday in the Small Hall Dal at the National Theater of Korea. Tickets cost 15,000 won ($16) for students and 30,000 won for adults. For more information, call (02) 762-9190.
For tickets, visit www.ticketlink.co.kr, or www.interpark.com.
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