For decades, the Modern Chinese Orchestra [中国民族管弦乐团] model, based on the Western orchestra and featuring Chinese traditional and Western classical instruments, has raised concerns and debates about its Westernized symphonic structure and sound among musicians, musicologists, and ethnomusicologists in China. It is one of the cultural products influenced by Western standards and aesthetics in the modernization process since 20th century China. The idea of Western art music as the standard for superior sound has shaped and overpowered music from “other” cultures in musical form, sound, structure, and practices. Recently, there has been a growing sentiment in China that continuing to echo Western art music supremacy in the Modern Chinese Orchestra, diminishes and erases the unique sound and identity of Chinese traditional music, reinforcing the false belief that Chinese traditional art is inferior and needs to be transformed and “cultured” through westernization to be understood globally. De-westernization is essential to President Xi Jinping’s proposition on the Chinese path to modernization. In doing so, he emphasized the role of culture in the Twentieth National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party held in October 2022. For instance, he pointed out the preservation of intangible cultural heritages, promotion of people-centered Arts, presentation of nationalistic imagery, etc. as priorities. In this context, this paper traces the birth and historical development of the Modern Chinese Orchestra. It further presents reflections of composers, scholars, and conductors on reform, innovation, and possible future compositional and institutional trends for the orchestra.

Since its establishment in 2010, the South Korean Cultural Centers in Abuja and Lagos, Nigeria, have actively promoted Korean cultural heritage, including Taekwondo, cuisine, K-pop, films, arts, and language. In 2013, Isioma Williams, a veteran Bata drummer based in Lagos, participated in a cultural exchange program at Kyonggi University, South Korea, where he learned the Janggu drum. This paper examines the dynamic interaction between Nigerian drummers and South Korean musical tradition, focusing on drumming and the globalization of traditional Korean drums, particularly the Janggu drum. It explores the history and contemporary performance practices of the Samulnori genre in Nigeria, highlighting the cultural syncretism emerging from this cross-cultural exchange. Additionally, it outlines the role of Nigerian traditional drummers trained in Janggu drumming techniques, their contribution to Korean-Nigerian interaction, and their function as surrogates and cultural custodians of Korean traditions in West Africa. While scholarly attention has been given to the economic and political interconnectedness between Africa and South Korea, there is limited research on their musical and cultural interactions. Drawing on my active engagement in Samulnori training and performances facilitated by the Korean Cultural Center in Lagos, along with existing literature on Afro-Asian musical interaction, this paper provides a nuanced understanding of how collaborative music-making transcends cultural barriers. This paper underscores the historical and contemporary relevance of the Samulnori genre in Nigeria. It offers insights into how traditional music adapts and thrives in new environments, thus contributing to a broader discourse on globalization and cultural hybridity in the 21st century.

For the video game “modding” community- a community that edits or creates in-game content using external software- communism seems to be not only accepted, but expected, regardless of the political views of the people involved. I will examine how modding communities exemplify the moral principle that anthropologist David Graeber describes as "everyday communism" (2011, 100), in which people work purely according to their abilities to satisfy the needs of others. Modding communities have seen little scholarly recognition, despite their ability to tell us more about the possibility for communism in the capitalistic industry of game development. This paper will look at the role composers and music play in the motivation and recruitment of volunteers for video game modding, particularly through the lens of an upcoming mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim; a mod which seeks to create a Southeast Asian-inspired worldspace, in sharp contrast to the Nordic fantasy Skyrim is known for. As a composer and consultant for the project for almost two years now, specializing in the creation of unique gamelan styles for the mod, I will look at how our project interfaces with the problematic worldbuilding and essentialism (Kostrzewa, 2022) of The Elder Scrolls in a way that crafts a more equitable fantasy world for fans of the series. I will argue that video game modding shows the ability for music to motivate people around the world to work in a baseline communist fashion, contrary to the standard hierarchy-based practices of the gaming industry.