Report On The 29th General Assembly
And The International Symposium
Of The International Music Council, The IMC,
28 September - 2 October 2001
The IASJ is affiliated with the IMC since 2000. Takanori Sugauchi and Maya Masaki had the pleasure of attending the 29th IMC Assembly in Tokyo, Japan from September 28th till October 2nd on behalf of the IASJ.
The following is a brief description of IMC and my reporting of the event. The main topics on the agenda of the symposium: the music cultures in the 21st century; globalization and local identities.
The IMC is the global music organization, associated with UNESCO; it has a membership of national music committees and international music organizations. The IMC serves its members by providing information and opportunities for communication and cooperation; initiate, encourage and /or facilitate actions, especially joint action by members, intended to benefit music and musical life internationally.
It is the objective of the IMC to contribute to securing the following basic rights:
September 29 2001
The site chosen for the IMC assembly is the Tokyo Art Theater, a magnificent modern state of the art architectural building. The building is composed of a grand concert hall, several theaters and conference halls. The opening ceremony started with a musical performance by a traditional Japanese vertical bamboo flute, Shakuhatch, followed by a stream of welcoming addresses by Bin Ebisawa, President of the Japanese National Committee of IMC, current president of IMC, Frans de Ruiter and senior officials of the municipal and national government in this order. The overall tone of the addresses is the necessity to use music as a tool for communication and cultural exchange, its challenges and the fascination of overcoming the challenges. One of the major themes to be discussed would be the globalization of all music without crushing individual identities and the protection of cultural diversity.
During the reception held at the Hotel Metropolitan, there was a presentation of traditional Japanese folk dance music. The ensemble consisted of a bamboo pipe flute, drums and various cymbals accompanied by dancers wearing traditional folklore masks, encouraging the guests to join the dance, creating a very playful atmosphere.
September 30 2001
Installed in the main concert hall is a magnificent pipe organ set on the middle flight reaching all the way up to the ceiling. The event that left everybody astounded was that the panels of which the pipe organ is set could be automatically manipulated to reverse itself revealing yet another set of organ from the other side.
Music Cultures in the 21st Century. Globalization and local identities.
Panelists: Peter Renshaw (UK), Jan Ling (Goethenburg University, Sweden), Hwang Byung- Ki (Eewha University, Korea), Hiroshi Watanabe(University of Tokyo, Japan)
Before the presentations began, IMC president Frans de Ruiter gave an introduction, addressing questions coming out of the September 11 tragedy. He lead a moment of silence for commemoration. After that he talked about how the world had changed since September 11 2001. What mistakes as a whole had we made that lead to this tragedy? Also he mentioned the incidents in Cambodia, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Palestine etc. and brought up issues such as: Where will all of this bring us, the need to reevaluate values, welcoming of differences in cultures, developing a sense of belonging.
Talked about the healing power of music. Is anything good coming out of September 11th? It needs redefining of what we are all about. Advantages and disadvantages of globalization: danger of blurring boundaries but break ways to extend one's own horizons leading to creativity. Many musicians are threatened about globalization, being locked in their own world in spite of rhetoric.
Brand identity: logo abundant society (McDonalds, Coke, Gap, Disney, etc.) is market driven and does not like diversity. Art as a form of celebrating individuality and modern art and modern music are melting pots in which everybody is free to roam, if being responsive to different concepts and change, developing new forms and languages to create new audience.
At the Guildhall School of Music and Drama research money is forwarded to trans-cultural curriculum. The musicians are able to extend themselves and tap into their creativity through improvisation. Experimenting with world music, pop, jazz, technology, building coherence with the local community of diverse cultures in London. Established relationship with Tanzania and created a new living tradition but still rooted in the past. This project has helped appreciating the diversity but also finding the commonality between cultures. Importance of respecting individual diversity and not handling it just as a trivial interest. The meeting of mind and spirit.
Globalization is most important in search for a new direction toward the future. The September incident makes us concentrate on this issue even more.
Promoting music and peace is the work of the IMC. The world music market is growing faster than classical or jazz in retail stores. Although musicians may not be able to directly solve their problems, as an international organization, it is important to put emphasis on the global problems such as the lack of education for the children in impoverished areas such as in Afghanistan. Introducing various recording examples of Swedish traditional/folk music and its implementation on contemporary music.
Western modernization spreading through Asia in 19th century, has caused a notion of western music being more superior to non-western music. But in mid-20th century, the artistic quality of each ethnic (non western) music began to be recognized in the world. Modern Korean composers are striving to create something distinctively Korean but international at the same time. The integration of Korean traditional music (Ying) and western music (Yang) creating something original. Recording examples of such Korean compositions including Mr.Hwang's original composition Labyrinth, which caused much controversy for its innovative inclination and was once banned by the Korean government in its military ruled past. Recently held a big concert in Seoul with performances of traditional, pop, rock, jazz, shaman, dancers and painters. A vision of a musical garden with multi-colored flowers in full bloom.
He gave perspectives of globalization as a historian and professor of musicology, not as a musician. Because of being an island country, the musical identity of Japan has a mono-cultural image. Purists regard Kabuki, Geisha, Gagaku music as the stereotypical Japanese musical culture. The traditional purists has a snobbish attitude toward the post-war western tainted culture, considering it artistically as beneath from the traditional music but the mentality was quite different in 1920-30s Japan when Japanese traditionalists were much more opened and receptive to diversity. Still existing recording examples of pre-world war two era of Shakuhatchi (traditional bamboo flute) and guitar ensemble, Geisha music with jazz arrangement, Geisha music with guitar and Shakuhatchi. Introducing Shakuhatchi renovated to be able to play wider than its original scale, thus adaptable to play western scales. After the Pacific War era of imperialism, the Japanese mentality has shifted drastically toward favoring the west creating an extreme gap between the traditional purists but they are now at the point of revaluing the traditional culture and creatively integrating with the west. Whether for or against globalization, since it has already been happening, it is not an issue of regarding it as good or bad but should concentrate on how to accept the movement. Globalization is nothing new but it is spreading rapidly with the advancement of media.
by Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra with solo performances of koto, shakuhatchi and biwa. The actual successful form of globalization. An artistic fusion of traditional music, both Japanese and Western Classical, reaching profundity in itself, not just as another experimental dare.
Election and appointment of new president and committee. The next IMC assembly will take place in Uruguay in 2003
The cyber-keyboard is an advanced form of electone, a Yamaha creation of a cross between electric organ and synthesizer. Experimental performances with saxophone, trung (a traditional Vietnamese instrument with bamboo tubes tuned to a pentatonic scale, resembling the xylophone) and voice.
Gagaku is an ancient court music that came to Japan from the Asian continent around the 8th century and was refined and modified to the Japanese taste. The tradition of this music from more than thousand years ago is handed on down to a strict family heritage line of many generations and the musicians of the present are the descendants from the ancient years. It is difficult to describe this slow heavy music that puts you in a trippy meditative mood. The ensemble consists of bamboo mouth organ that serves as the base (mainly two keys), horizontal bamboo flutes (high and low), koto (thirteen stringed zither), biwa (five stringed lute), and percussion (gong, small drum, cymbal). Even today, Gagaku performance is closed to the general public and could be seen by invitation only. As a common citizen, I consider it very fortunate to have had this rare opportunity.
Maya Masaki