Seoul International Computer Music Festival 2008 (review)

The Seoul International Computer Music Festival 2008 (SICMF) presented by the Korean Electroacoustic Music Society (KEAMS) 9–12November 2008 can be distinguished from other conferences and festivals by its unique four-day schedule. Although the Jayu Theater at the Seoul Performing Arts Center was available to SICMF for four full days, SICMF opted, as it has in the past, to present only one concert for each day of the festival. This is very different from many electronic music festivals where three to four concerts are forced to fit into one day. SICMF’s approach has many advantages and these advantages were made evident in the quality of the performances. Rather than allocate the normal 20–25 minutes of rehearsal and technical preparation per composition, which is standard practice for most such festivals, SICMF allotted most composers and performers at least an hour. Not only does this facilitate technical preparation, it relieves a lot of the stress normally associated with rushed rehearsals. The end result is an optimal environment where composers and performers are afforded every opportunity to achieve the most ideal version of their work. There is one obvious disadvantage to this arrangement and that is lack of presentation time to be more inclusive. Out of a pool of 80 submitted works from the international electroacoustic community, only 15 could be accepted. However, all composers, performers, and concert organizers are after the same ultimate goal, concert performances of high quality, and this was achieved through the choice of limiting the numbers of concerts and increasing the amount of resources for adequate preparation.

Another notable distinction about SICMF was in the talent and dedication of the performers. This conference was not just another gig for the performers, nor was it an outlet for new music specialists who couldn’t find a place to perform otherwise. The SICMF performers were passionate about the craft of electronic music performance, have mastered the techniques that are required to perform electronic music, and had prepared themselves and their music for performance at the SICMF.

Opening the festival was an innocuously effective tape work Trailer for UBIK composed by Jeffrey Trevino. Using everyday sounds of technology from facsimile machines, radio ads, and other vestiges of technology, the sounds were processed beyond recognition and smartly diffused throughout the hall. One lone speaker, unattached to the sound system and with a spotlight projected upon it, set the tone for the festival. This work, as well as the rest of the works to follow in the festival, utilized electronic performers whether human or electronic in its pursuit of academic computer music.

Deep Sound by Mi-Jung Kim is a programmatic work depicting the 2007 oil contamination accident of the Tae-An peninsula in Korea. The work utilizes a sparse, pointillistic texture that invites careful attention to and awareness of the electronic sounds as well as the careful plucked and bowed articulations effortlessly performed on the geomungo by Sunny Lee. Gang Gang by Ge-Suk Yeo is a series of four sound poems synchronized with terse black and white animation symbolizing calligraphy. The esoterically structured work provided the audience with a formidable challenge, if not already versed in the language of computer music.

Ed Martin’s Flurry for soprano saxophone and tape was performed with precision and grace, and the electronic part showcased Mr. Martin’s evocative facility in a programmatic work that nostalgically reflects upon memories of childhood winters. Tae Hong Park evoked the American vernacular in his fixed media work ViPer for violin, percussion, and multi-channel tape. Like Mr. Park’s Bass X Sung for electric bass and computer, ViPer incorporates elements of American popular music as a starting point, but quickly departs and expands its vocabulary and modes of expression. This high-impact work provided a rousing ending to the first recital of the festival. Although the concert required some cumbersome technical configurations, the preparation time afforded by the festival facilitated an eloquent and seamless concert production and an enhanced enjoyment for both audience and artists.

Concert II...