Dr. Texu Kim (Assistant Professor of Music Composition and Theory, San Diego State University) will present his recent compositional works that are inspired by modern and contemporary culture of his native South Korea, including chopsalteok (sweet, gooey, and fluffy ball-shaped rice cake made of glutinous rice and stuffed with red bean) vendors’ cry, Korean Christianity, Korean folk lullaby, children’s play (some of which you can find in “Squid Game”), and various aspects of K-pop, addressing issues of why/how he incorporates it in his music.

Presenter bio:

Texu Kim writes music inspired by everyday experiences; music about modern (South) Korea, reflecting its multicultural nature; and music that is humorous yet sophisticated. His music has been performed by New York Philharmonic, Oregon Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, New World Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, National Orchestra of Korea, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Ensemble Modern, Alarm Will Sound, etc. Winner of 2022 Barlow Prize, his arrangements have also featured on numerous albums, with labels including DECCA and DG. Texu teaches at San Diego State University as an assistant professor and served as the Composer-in-Residence of the Korean Symphony Orchestra in 2014-16.