Contemporary Gugak Orchestra (National Gugak Center)

The Contemporary Gugak Orchestra under the National Gugak Center returns with a chamber music performance that features the musical works of six leading composers in Korean creative traditional music.

"The Korean Composers Series" will be held on March 9, at Umyeondang of the National Gugak Center, located in Seocho-gu, Seoul.

The series selects the works of Korean composers who have helped shape contemporary gugak music traditions and provides a stage for reflection on the meaning and significance of their compositions.

The six selected pieces have drawn attention from critics for their unconventional approach to performance and musical beauty.

Five chamber music pieces are composed mainly of individual Korean musical instruments, including "piri," "geomungo," "haegeum," "gayageum" and "daegeum." In addition, the orchestra will perform one chamber music ensemble.

Composer and piri performer Park Bum-hoon’s “Menari for Dance” will open the stage. The piri trio song, which premiered at the National Gugak Center’s “Piri History Festival” in 1997, is played with the "hyang piri," the longest and most common type of piri, the modernized high-pitched piri, and the "dae piri" for its low pitch. The term “menari” refers to the musical characteristics of traditional melodies developed around the Taebaek Mountains and the eastern part of the Sobaek Mountains.

Jeon In-pyeong’s duet for geomungo, Lee Sung-chun’s duet piece for haegeum, Hwang Byung-ki’s piece for gayageum and janggu, Lee Sang-kyu’s solo piece for daegeum, and Baek Dae-woong’s “Monggeumpo Taryeong for Five Instruments” will be played.