Music of Turkey, Music of Korea, and Music and Dance of Ghana

Ensemble Directors

Münir Beken

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Münir Beken’s career spans theory, composition, ethnomusicology, and performance. As a composer, he has written a state-commissioned ballet suite for orchestra, won awards for film music, and scored television documentaries both domestically and internationally. His scholarly work focuses on modal theory; he is also conducting research on musical globalization and the phenomenology of music. He has published in Ethnomusicology, a premier journal in the field, and contributed to The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. He was one of the founding members of the State Turkish Music Ensemble.

Beken’s specialties are: world music theory; composition; modal theory; musical globalization; phenomenology of music; melodic modal systems of the Middle East and Central Asia; Turkish music; music of the Ottoman Empire.

Beken earned his Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from the University of Maryland. He completed his M.A. in music theory at the Technical University of Istanbul.

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Gamin Kang

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Gamin Kang is a Korean-born multi-instrumentalist who specializes in traditional Korean wind instruments known as the piri (double-reed Korean oboe), taepyongso (double-reed horn), and saenghwang (mouth organ). She tours the world performing traditional Korean music and engages in numerous cross-disciplinary collaborations. She holds a doctorate in Korean traditional music from Seoul National University and she is a designated Yisuja, official holder of South Korea’s Important Intangible Cultural Asset No. 46.

 

From 2000 to 2010, Dr. Kang was the principal piri player at the National Gugak Orchestra in Seoul. Since moving to the United States, Kang has received several cultural exchange program grants and fellowships. She was an Artist-in-Residence at the Asian Cultural Council and a Visiting Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania in 2018. Her book on piri techniques was awarded the Art Research Award from Seoul Arts Council in 2016. Dr. Kang has collaborated in cross-cultural improvisation with world-acclaimed musicians and she has premiered new compositions at venues such as Roulette Theater, The New School, and the Metropolitan Museum. She was a featured artist at the Silkroad concert in Seoul (2018), performing on stage with the founder, Yo-Yo Ma.

 

Since 2018, Dr. Kang has curated performances at the Center for Remembering and Sharing in New York City. In 2020, Kang was selected as an Artist-in-Residence at the HERE Arts Center, NYC, and her album “Nong” was released by Innova Records. Her Carnegie Hall solo début, accompanied by Nangye Gugak Orchestra, was scheduled for March 2020, but was postponed due to the pandemic. In  2021, the Jerome Foundation awarded Dr. Kang their prestigious 2-year Fellowship and the Howard Foundation awarded her a fellowship in 2023. (website: www.gaminmusic.com)

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Francis Kofi Akotuah

Francis Kofi Akotuah

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Francis Kofi Akotuah is a traditional drummer and teacher from Accra, Ghana. Born and raised in the melting pot neighborhood of New Town, Francis grew up in an environment bursting with the sights and sounds of Ghana’s many ethnic groups. Francis began drumming as a teenager and has been teaching for over 25 years. At the young age of 18, Francis earned a position in the Ghana Dance Ensemble at the Institute of African Studies of the University of Ghana and in 1997, he transitioned to the university’s School of Performing Arts to become a drumming instructor and dance accompanist, where he remained until he relocated abroad in 2015. During his almost two decades at the University of Ghana he taught hundreds of students from around the world and has collaborated with visiting artists and scholars across genres.

Francis is now based in the San Francisco Bay Area and, in addition to teaching at UCLA, he also teaches at UC Santa Cruz and the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts. He has taught and performed at universities around the US and Canada, has toured Canada with the Juno-nominated band Mr. Something Something and has performed with Mohammed Alidu’s Bizung Family Band at the Rototom Sunsplash Festival in Valencia, Spain. In 2022, Francis served as a mentor through the ACTA Apprenticeship Program, and in 2023 he was an ACTA Living Cultures Individual Artist grantee and a California Arts Council Established Artist Fellow.

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Program

Music of Turkey Ensemble

May 30 2025 Concert Notes, prepared by Münir Beken:

 

Performers:

Münir Beken (ud-voice)

Choon Hwee Koh (darbuka)

Mikey Aboutboul (ney)

Yadeal Mesfin Asfaw (bendir)

Danyal Beken (cello)

Suzan Beken (voice)

Ariyanna Durrani (Daire)

Alyssa Kurt (voice)

Shitong Li (lavta-voice)

Ian Price (bendir)

Kethan Krishna Raman (kanun)

Simon Salmon (ud & çeng)

Defne Tanyıldız (voice)

Ruby Tekori Lim-Moreno (ud)

Aden Tezolmez (voice)

Isaac Warren (darbuka)

 

Program:

Ottoman Court Music

Fihrist Taksim (solo improvisation) Münir Beken

Rast Kar-ı Nâtık  “Rast getirip fend ile seyretti Hümayı” (by İsmail Dede Efendi 1778-1846)

Rast Şarkı “Yine bir gül nihal” (by İsmail Dede Efendi 1778-1846)

 

Turkish Instrumental Music

Uşşak Taksim (solo improvisation) Mikey Aboutboul

Uşşak Pesrev by Tanburi Büyük Osman Bey

 

Urban Songs

Alyssa Kurt sings

Bestenigar Şarkı “Ben seni sevdim seveli kaynayıp costum” (by İsmail Dede Efendi 1778-1846)

Nihavend Şarkı “Sarkılar seni söyler”(by Muzaffer Ilkar 1910-1987)

 

Aden Tezolmez sings

Nihavend Şarkı “Hatırla sevgili o mesut geceyi” (by Muhlis Sabahattin Ezgi 1889-1947)

Nihavend Şarkı “Yıldızların altında”(Kaptanzade Ali Rıza Bey 1881-1934)

 

 

The Music of Turkey Ensemble sings

Nihavend Türkü “Üsküdara gider iken” (Anonymous)

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Music of Korea Ensemble

  1. Arirang, Doraji, Kyungbokgung-Taryeong for piri (double-reed bamboo oboe).DEL REAL, JUAN; KIM, MANUEL; KIM, RILEY IN HYUNG; VILLAVICENCIO, NICHOLAS; ANGELO, BROOKLYN (janggo).
  2. Jindo Arirang & Sae-Taryeong (Birds Song) for gayageum (12 string zither).
  3. New piece (Movement 2), composed by Rafael Amaral.
    KIM, NICHOLAS (clarinet); KANG, GAMIN (piri).
  4. Fusion Gugak
    1. Sarang-ga (Love Song)
    2. Arirang Medley: Gin-Arirang, Milyang Arirang, Jindo Arirang
      NAM, JANICE (gayageum); LEE, ANGIE (violin); KANG, CHASE (vocal); ASFAW, YADEAL (keyboard).
  1. Pan-Gut
    Kkwaenggari (small metal gong), janggo (hourglass drum), buk (barrel drum), jing (brass gong), sangmo (folk arts hat).
    LEE, ANGIE (janggo) KIM, NICHOLAS (janggo) VILLAVICENCIO, BROOKLYN ANGELO (janggo) YOON, JOEL (buk) DEL REAL, JUAN MANUEL (buk) KIM, RILEY IN HYUNG (jing) SHIN, ELAINE (janggo) CHOI, GRACE (janggo) KRULIK, LAUREN (buk) LEE, BEATRICE (sangmo) HWANG, JEONG-MIN (sangmo) HSU, JARD (kkwanggari).

 

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Music and Dance of Ghana Program 2025

 

Performers:

Miriam Adhanom

Ben Bonsall

Ellis Bruxvoort

Kelese Bryant

Aerlind Janna

Payton Kashdan

Roman Leitz

Chatri Rajapaksha

Haru Sakurai

Cylin Wang

Anthony White

Elana Cohen-Khani

Sam Kredich

Sebastian Nasser

Thomas Leeb

Benny Schultz

 

Kete is royal court music from the Asante Kingdom of Ghana. More a suite of music than an individual piece, traditionally Kete was restricted to palaces of chiefs and kings, but has been “released” and is now heard all over the Ashanti Region and Ghana for all types of occasions. The drums are traditionally wrapped in black and red fabric, reflecting heavy themes of war and conquest.

 

Agbekɔ, or Atsiagbekɔ, is a piece from the Anlɔ Eʋe people who live along Ghana’s southeastern coastline. One of the older pieces in the Anlɔ repertoire, Agbekɔ emerged out of an dance-drumming music called Atamga, or “the great oath.” Warriors would visit their traditional deities to ask for permission and protection before going to war. Later on, dancing became a way to share their exploits with their countrymen after returning home. Today, Agbekɔ helps remind Eʋes of their history and serves as a reminder of the benefits of peace.

 

Kpanlogo is social music from the Ga people of Ghana’s capital city, Accra. Kpanlogo emerged in the late 1950s and early 1960s as subversive music for the youth. Once it caught on, Kpanlogo groups formed and would compete on weekends with rapidly evolving new dance moves and drumming variations. Today, Kpanlogo is used at all sorts of occasions, usually celebratory, and songs usually reflect themes that have to do with the trials and tribulations of interpersonal relationships we all encounter in every day life. If you ever tune in to an soccer/football match featuring Ghana’s national team, you’ll be treated to some Kpanlogo hype music as the team gets ready to step out onto the pitch.