Edward Schocker's Crossing Ensemble

Self_Less is a new musical work by Edward Schocker and The Crossing Ensemble that examines our “sense of self” while questioning the uniformity of these perceived feelings. Incorporating live music from an cross-cultural music ensemble, projected abstract images and pre-recorded audio of stories from people who have had unique neuropsychological experiences (such as meditative states of being, out-of-body or near-death experiences, dementia and other experiences of separating the self from the body), Self_Less’ mission is to create an artistic work that doesn’t judge or try to explain these conditions, but allows us as audience to hear the reflections of people who experience these phenomena.

The Crossing Ensemble’s mission is to create new and innovative work that combines traditional Eastern sensibilities with modern American technologies and performance practices. By creating pieces in a group collaborative process, many times in interdisciplinary efforts and with involvement from local communities, our goal is to create meaningful work that investigates various artistic and social themes. Founded in 2014, The Crossing Ensemble’s unique process of creating work is closer to that of theater companies or dance troupes rather than standard music ensembles. The ensemble creates each of its original works in a collaborative manner with each ensemble member and/or collaborating partner having equal creative input in guiding the work to fruition. Since its founding, The Crossing Ensemble has performed and premiered new work at the Center for New Music, Asian Art Museum, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Fort Mason Center for the Arts and the Berkeley Art Museum.

Edward Schocker
Edward Schocker is a composer and performer who creates music with made/found materials and alternate tuning systems. Edward was artist in residence at the European Dance Development Center in Düsseldorf, Germany where he took part in and conducted workshops in instrument building, and composer/choreographer collaborations. In 2004 Edward composed music for an UNESCO sponsored work with Echo Arts –a large bicommunal project in Cyprus that helped build understanding between communities in conflict. Edward’s artist in residence and commissions include Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Stanford Lively Arts, the St. Ignatius Choir directed in San Francisco, Firebird Youth Chinese Orchestra in San Jose, and Youkobo Art Space in Tokyo. He was awarded The NEA/Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission Fellowship to research Japanese musical instruments and tuning systems, and received a 6-month residency at the Headlands Center for the Arts. Recently he was an artist in residence at the Paul Dresher Ensemble’s ARC program.

Yun-Kyong Jin
Yun-Kyong Jin is a celebrated piri (double reed) player and gugak (Korean traditional music) scholar. She holds degrees from Korea National University of Arts and Seoul National University, and is a doctoral candidate at The Academy of Korean Studies. She has won numerous awards for gugak performance, including The Important Intangible Cultural Asset for classical piri, and has recorded two albums; ‘Memento Mori,’ and, ‘Invisible Land.’ Jin is among the young generation of piri performers. The piri, reed instrument constructed of bamboo, produces a sound that defies expectations. Often untenably compared to the Western classical oboe, the piri is tiny by comparison but possesses an unexpected sonority. Instead of metal keys and an elongated wooden body, the piri is simple: reed and bamboo. At once shrill and soothing, the piri is among a family of instruments that can found in Japan and Turkey, as well as other parts of Europe and Asia, yet it has maintained its own unique character within Korean musical traditions. In court music ensembles, the piri (perhaps due to its capacity for volume) takes the leading melodic role for ensemble performances and plays a central role in many folk performance genres. In pieces such as “Birth” and “Korean Spirit” Jin honors the piri’s heritage while also finding new ways to express the instrument’s distinctive timbre in collaboration with gentle, subdued accompaniment.