Han to retire from School of Music

Annual world music concert scheduled for April 6

by Mark McGowan

Just try to leave Kuo-Huang Han's office without a handful of Asian candy.

The 32-year professor in the NIU School of Music keeps a generous stash of sweets from the Far East in his top desk drawer, an edible example of his fascination with the culture of foreign countries.

"All these candies are made not only tasty, but their wrappers are different," Han says, examining a plum wine confection in a pink-and-white paper. "I like different kinds of music. Why not different kinds of candy?"

That try-anything philosophy defines Han's career, which will begin to wind down after next Sunday's semi-annual world music concert.

After three decades of teaching exotic instruments and sounds, his infectious enthusiasm remains that of a kid in, well, a candy store. Nonetheless, the Presidential Teaching Professor believes it's been "long enough."

"I really love my job a lot. I just love to teach. I'm here on weekends. I'm here every day," says Han, who's already booked to handle three classes next year as a part-time instructor. "I will still be here. I have several writing projects waiting, three at least."

Born in China, Han's family moved to Taiwan after World War II. Told as a child that smart children play musical instruments, he took up the violin, received classical training in Western music and became a symphony musician.

When he came to the United States in the 1960s to study at Northwestern University, a professor mentioned in one class that composer Claude Debussy was influenced by the Indonesian gamelan. Han never had heard of gamelan - a gong and metallophone orchestra.

Intrigued, he borrowed some gamelan recordings from the library.

"Later, I decided, 'Oh, I've got to go study gamelan.' I also went to Indonesia to study it," says Han, who many years later acquired a gamelan for NIU. "I meet a lot of people who say, 'What? Gamelan in the middle of the cornfield?' I say, 'Yes, why not?' "

Han originally taught Western music history when he came to NIU in 1971, but added the world music component in 1975.

"Our world is a global village. We accept ethnic food in our society. Why can't we accept ethnic music?" he asks. "I open people's minds and ears. I get students excited. There are other ways of writing and presenting music. You will look at an unfamiliar culture differently. You like it or not - that doesn't matter - but you will respect it. That's the important thing."

The first world music concert at NIU, staged in the spring of 1975, was a small affair performed in the recital hall by Han's students. The first year's concert, called "Musica Exotica," drew a large crowd - perhaps, Han laughs, because the Northern Star mistakenly printed it as "Music Erotica."

As the years passed, the concert grew in size and audience until it moved to the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall. Han also began scheduling two concerts each year and welcoming outside guests.

Sunday's offering includes music from the Far East, including a Chinese zither solo, a gong ensemble and Balinese and central Javanese gamelan, as well as music and arts from other places: a flamenco guitar solo, a Philippine dance troupe and the happy Jewish sounds of the NIU Klezmer Band.

It also will feature a Tai Chi demonstration by NIU photographer George Tarbay, backed by a Chinese music ensemble.

The free concert begins at 3 p.m. Sunday in the concert hall of the Music Building. Children are welcome. For more information, call 753-1546 or 753-7979.

"We offer an alternative between classical and rock 'n' roll. This is how other people sound," says Han, who considers himself a "world music scout. I give our students opportunities, but I'm always trying to find some talent here or there. I make all kinds of connections."

His only regret is that the number of performers limits his time to talk to the audience about the world cultures, the music and the instruments.

"I really like to have my work more educational in purpose," he says. "I want people to remember not only the sound and the shape, but the function. Music does not have to be very, very serious, tie and tails. It's about being there."

For Han, the lingering fascination lies in "the different sound, the different possibilities of sound combinations and all the different social backgrounds." His office is crowded with instruments from around the world, some only decorative, but most functional; his mind, meanwhile, is crowded with the histories and anecdotes of each piece.

"I learn so many things not in a regular music class," he says. "Many of my students are future teachers. They don't have to learn to play these, but they can use my stories."

3-31-2003