Author Description

This issue seeks to explore shifts in Korea’s musical culture through an examination of the many ensembles—court ensembles to fusion teams—that now represent it. With diverse ensembles inside Korea’s musical world providing a window through which we can discuss musical change, the issue’s coalescent theme is that of soundscape. In ethnomusicological parlance, the term has come to indicate all sonic phenomena accidental and purposeful, natural and manipulated connected to a particular place at a particular time. The atmospheric sounds of Korea’s twenty and twenty-first century rapidly changing environment have contoured the character of the populace, inspiring ensemble acoustic expressivities. Contributors provide a well-rounded representation of the ensemble within the contemporary Korean soundscape. Individual articles explore the genesis and revival of the court ensemble, the modern traditional music orchestra, the young kugak team phenomenon, North/South trans-border collaborations, diversifying identities in ensemble performance, and domestic-to-global shifts in contemporary performance. The ensemble has increasingly diversified through collaborations, heritage cultivation, and global influence, effecting new potential and expectations for a Korean sound.