February 14, 2005
Chancellor hosted by Korean consul general
By Scott Rappaport
Chancellor Denice D. Denton underscored her value for UCSC’s
international perspective at a recent dinner hosted by the Korean
consul general in San Jose.
Attending the dinner were, from left, Ron Suduiko, Steve
Kang, Consul General Sang-ki Chung, Denice Denton, Hi Kyung
Kim, and David Evan Jones
Photo: Ann
McCrow |
Designed to brief the Korean media and business community
about the upcoming Pacific Rim Music Festival at UCSC in April-May,
the event was part of an ongoing effort to promote cultural
collaborations between the campus and Korea.
“Creativity flourishes in diverse environments where there
are adequate opportunities for cross-cultural exchange,”
Denton noted in her opening remarks at the dinner. “Fostering
stronger ties with the international community and building
UCSC’s global perspective is one of my top priorities as
incoming chancellor.”
Denton added that initiatives like the Pacific Rim Music Festival
and a proposed UCSC center for Pacific Rim Music and Culture
are key examples of how the campus can benefit from its strategic
location on the Pacific Rim next to the San Francisco Bay Area
and Silicon Valley—major centers for international commerce
and the arts.
The dinner was attended by a number of CEOs from the Korean
press, radio, and television, as well as such business leaders
as the president of the Korean American Chamber of Commerce
in Silicon Valley and the president of the Korean Industry Network.
UCSC was represented by Hi Kyung Kim, associate professor of
music and artistic director of the Pacific Rim Music Festival;
David Evan Jones, Porter College provost and professor of music;
Ron Suduiko, vice chancellor of University Relations; and Steve
Kang, dean of the Baskin School of Engineering.
"A new wave of musicians, composers, and artists grounded
in the music and art of their own Asian cultures is invigorating
and shaping what was previously considered the music of the
West," Jones said in his brief address to the assembled
guests. "At the same time, European and American composers
are seeking influence in ever more fundamental ways from the
rich and diverse cultural traditions of Asia."
Jones, who traveled to Korea last spring to hear his own opera
performed in Seoul, observed that the UCSC Music Department
offers an unusually diverse curriculum with an important focus
on the study of world music. He noted that Santa Cruz recently
became the first UC campus to offer a doctorate in music composition
with a specialty focusing on indigenous non-Western composers.
“Americans have a great deal to learn from Korean attitudes
toward culture and, indeed, a great deal to learn from Korean
culture itself,” said Jones. “It is very important--not
only for Korean Americans but for all Americans--that traditional
Korean culture be prominently represented in our universities.”
Engineering dean Kang additionally spoke about his personal
pride as a Korean American in seeing Korean traditions being
presented and celebrated on an American campus.
The 2005 Pacific Rim Festival will take place at UCSC from
April 29 through May 7. It will include a new composition by
artistic director Hi Kyung Kim, who is internationally known
for incorporating Western classical music with traditional techniques
and instruments from her native Korea. For complete program
information, visit the festival web site at: http://pacificrim.ucsc.edu
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