Five bright opportunities to seize at the 2025 Paradigmatic Revolutions Music Festival & Conference

Gamin Kang (stage name: gamin)

A bright, penetrative note emerges from the piri, a Korean double-reed instrument, its sound wavering between past and present. In the hands of multi-instrumentalist and PAN Project co-founder gamin, it blends traditional melodies with experimentation. Then, an unexpected harmony, it weaves together with the delicate, water-like plucks of a guqin — a 7-string Chinese zither — played by PAN Project co-founder and East Asian Studies professor Jeff Roberts. It is precisely this interplay of diverse musical traditions that will take centre stage at the Paradigmatic Revolutions Music Festival and Conference, running from April 2 - 5, 2025, at the University of Alberta.

Over the course of four days, musicians and scholars unite to examine music in a global context, exploring the diverse influences across different musical traditions. With performances, discussions and workshops, the festival fosters intercultural exchange, reimagines contemporary composition, and challenges Western-centric narratives.

Attend the April 3 concert at the Myer Horowitz Theatre »

Here are five bright opportunities to seize at Paradigmatic Revolutions this April:

1. Explore Changing Approaches to Composition in Asia

Roberts, who has been teaching at the University of Alberta for over a decade, highlights how composition practices across Asia are shifting. "The Western practice of composition, as a consequence of Western Colonialism, has spread to many corners of the globe throughout the 20th century. While this has had a negative impact on local cultural traditions... there is now emerging a new cultural 'localness' within the context of hybrid music compositions."

Roberts emphasizes that the festival will explore key questions around intercultural composition: How have local networks supported composers outside of Western frameworks? What defines a cultural insider or outsider when someone studies and masters a tradition outside their home culture? He sees the festival as an opportunity for both musicians and audiences to engage with these complex discussions.

2. Experience a Sonic Fusion of Musical Traditions

For Gamin Kang (stage name: gamin), a Yisuja (Designated Master) of South Korea’s Important Intangible Cultural Asset No. 46 (piri court music), intercultural composition is deeply personal. From 2000 to 2010, she was the principal instrumentalist of the Contemporary Gugak Orchestra at the National Gugak Center, the hub for training and preserving traditional Korean music. "My background in both classical and traditional Korean music gives me a wide range of musical perspectives,” she says, “allowing me to embrace and integrate traditional elements into contemporary compositions."

She blends the expressive tonalities of instruments like the piri, saenghwang, and taepyungso with contemporary techniques, forging new musical languages. Her ensemble, PAN Project, will feature musicians from diverse traditions, including Jeff Roberts (guqin), Woonjung Sim (Korean percussion), Ned Rothenberg (shakuhachi), and collaborators Deepak Paramashivan (sarangi), and Afarin Nazarijou (qanun). "This piece pushes the boundaries of timbre and texture, weaving Korean traditional phrasing with extended techniques and modern soundscapes," gamin explains. “It reflects PAN Project’s mission to bridge musical traditions and challenge conventional genre boundaries. We are excited to share this unique fusion with the audience, sparking new conversations about the role of tradition in contemporary music.”

3. Engage with Cutting-Edge Research and Thought Leadership

The festival isn’t just about performances — it’s also a hub for scholarly exploration. A two-day conference will feature discussions on Asian-centric approaches to composition, with presentations from leading scholars and composers, including keynotes Frederick Lau, an ethnomusicologist from Chinese Hong Kong University, and 2022-2023 Fulbright scholar Mingyeong Son of Seoul National University.

"The festival allows perspectives from musicians and scholars involved with intercultural composition to both meet and share music, experiences, and scholarship with one another to develop and expand ideas, networks, and connections," says Roberts. "It also provides a great opportunity to share music, ideas, and scholarship with the Edmonton public and broader Canadian society who may not ordinarily be exposed to these diverse cultural perspectives."

4. Discover Unexpected Musical Collaborations

Pianist and Contemporary Art Music Project (CAMP) president Eunmi Ko, a festival presenter and CAMP ensemble lead, is passionate about unexpected musical pairings. "Collaboration is the most important part of CAMP's activities," she says. "We invite different ensembles, arts organizations, and individuals in non-music fields to work with us every year."

CAMP partnered with PAN Project at the CAMPGround25 festival in March, where their musicians performed a new work by composer Chihchun Chi-Sun Lee. "At the Paradigmatic Revolutions festival this April, we will discuss what happened musically at CAMPGround25," Ko says. Her organization thrives on experimentation, having worked with engineers and street dancers in past projects. "I love unlikely combinations and new sounds. There will always be trials and errors, but that is expected."

While Ko does not aim to challenge Western perspectives on composition, she acknowledges that her approach may surprise audiences. "Audiences have freedom to think and feel on their own,” she says. ”I don't think I challenge Western perspectives on compositions and music at all. [But] I may challenge audiences' expectations on traditional classical music performances and/or traditional classical music sounds."

5. Participate in Interactive Workshops and Performances

Beyond concerts and discussions, the festival also offers hands-on workshops and masterclasses for those eager to explore new sounds. Attendees will have the opportunity to experiment with blending different musical traditions and techniques.

"I hope audiences come away from the festival with a deeper appreciation for the richness and versatility of Asian musical traditions in contemporary global composition," gamin says. "Asian music is often perceived as something historical or exotic, but in reality, it is a living, evolving force that continues to shape and inspire new musical expressions worldwide."

Paradigmatic Revolutions offers a rare opportunity to experience musical traditions in dynamic conversation, proving that tradition is not static — it is constantly reinterpreted in new and unexpected ways.