Thinking Spaces: The Reading Group and Speaker Series is pleased to present percussionist, pedagogue, vocalist, composer and improviser Dong-Won Kim for his talk “Time to Plant Seed.”

This event will take place via Zoom. A moderated Q&A will follow the talk.

If you are interested in attending, please register online.

“Time To Plant Seed”: Now, we all know that the world and music environment won’t be the same after the pandemic. Perhaps we have to define it as a crisis for musicians and performers. However, I’d suggest we pursue the value of improvisation in times of desperation. It’s like when farmers lose their harvest for some reason; they always go back to the stage of planting a seed. I believe that improvisation becomes more valuable in times of crisis because it always leads us to the most essential elements of artistry and humanity. We can start over from there. We have each other and technologies to keep us contacted. – Dong-Won Kim

Dong-Won Kim has studied the traditional music of the Korean masters and works to introduce the world to the beauty of Korean traditional culture and music via his participation in numerous intercultural projects. He has performed across the globe, most prominently as a member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble. Kim is a music professor, teaching online through Wonkwang Digital University in Korea. In 2001, he wrote the fairy tale “Story of Salmunori,” and he features in the music documentary Intangible Asset Number 82 (2009). An activist, he was incarcerated as a political prisoner in 1987 after being part of an “illegal assembly” for the funeral of a young victim of police violence.

As always, Thinking Spaces is free and open to all. We hope to see you there! Thank you to the School of Fine Art and Music for sponsoring this event!

Hosted by the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation (IICSI)