Contemporary East presents composer and instrumentalist Kaoru Watanabe performing his work Incense, alongside the world premiere of a new piece by Guggenheim Fellow Yoon-Ji Lee. This evening brings together leading voices in contemporary improvisation, exploring the intersection of Eastern aesthetics and experimental sound.
Kaoru Watanabe’s Incense explores the dual uses and meanings of its title—burning and calming, smoldering and healing, provocation and release—as they relate to personal ritual, social conflict, and the act of rising above the tumultuous moment. Watanabe on Japanese flutes, percussion, zithers, and voice interwoven with electronics, Incense becomes a convergence of ancient and modern technologies, sound, and spirit.
Yoon-Ji Lee’s new work takes artistic freedom as its compass, navigating reflection, memory, and expression of contemporary society through the lens of Korean and Korean-American perspectives. The piece seeks to reveal universal human sensibilities and emotions through imagination and sound—unfolding in continuously clashing, unsettled sonic textures and the vivid presence of beings through composition, improvisation, and multimedia elements.
