Campbellsville University Displaying Exhibit Featuring Musical Instruments from Around the World
By Rachel Crenshaw, student news writer
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – Campbellsville University’s Art Gallery, located at 205 University Drive in Campbellsville, is featuring the exhibit “The Many Faces of Musical Instruments,” through Friday, Sept. 11.
The exhibit, created by Dr. Han Kuo-Huang, former professor of music at Northern Illinois University, features a collection of musical instruments from all around the world.
A reception for Han will be in the Art Gallery on Tuesday, Sept. 8 from 5-7 p.m.
In addition to the exhibit Han will be giving a guest presentation entitled, “Music from the Morning World,” on Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 8 p.m. in The Gheens Recital Hall with the Campbellsville University Percussion Ensemble. The program will be a demonstration concert of Balinese music.
Han said he hopes the exhibit will be enjoyed like an art show because many musical instruments are art objects to be appreciated. He also hopes it will flourish the interest in students to a deeper understanding of instruments and the cultures they represent.
Han said musical instruments could be studied as well as played. He said the scientific study of musical instruments is called organology. He anticipates the exhibit to communicate the scholarly as well as musical and artistic aspects of an instrument.
The program presented by Han will be a replica of a Balinese Gamelan Angklung concert. Bali is a small tropical island in Indonesia which was given the name “Morning of the World,” hence the title of the program.
The program will feature a slide presentation revealing different types of Gamelan and their social function in Central Java, West Java and Bali. Han will also be directing Campbellsville University’s Percussion Ensemble, under the direction of Chad Floyd, instructor in percussion and assistant marching band director.
The ensemble will perform traditional pieces on a set of instruments owned by Han from his collection from around the world. The pieces will be demonstrating bouncing melodies, syncopated rhythms, interlocking techniques and ostinato principles, all characteristics typical of Balinese music.
Han is a distinguished teaching professor emeritus from the School of Music at Northern Illinois University. He has been teaching world music, ethnomusicology and Chinese and Southeast Asian musical instruments for over thirty years. He has performed Asian music with students and given workshops in many colleges and scholarly conferences including the University of Kentucky.
He is a member of the Society for Ethnomusicology, Asian Music Society, Music Educators National Conference and Association for Chinese Music Research and has served as chair or adviser to some of these.
As an author, he has contributed articles to Ethnomusicology, Asian Music, New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians 2nd edition, Garland Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia of Contemporary China, Association for Chinese Music Research Reports, Multicultural Perspectives in Music Education 3rd edition, Musics in Many Cultures and has published 12 books in Chinese.
Campbellsville University is a private, comprehensive institution located in South Central Kentucky. Founded in 1906, Campbellsville University is affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention. Listed in U.S.News & World Report’s 2009 “America’s Best Colleges,” CU is ranked 23rd in “Best Baccalaureate Colleges” in the South and as an “up-and-coming” institution in a new category. CU has been ranked 17 consecutive years with U.S.News & World Report. The university has also been named to America’s Best Christian Colleges® and designated as a Military Friendly School by G.I. Jobs. Campbellsville University is located 82 miles southwest of Lexington, Ky., and 80 miles southeast of Louisville, Ky. Dr. Michael V. Carter is in his 11th year as president.
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