Great Integration: A Chamber Hip-Hop Opera at the Rae Douglass Gallery December 4, 2010

Great Integration is steeped in an electrifyingly contemporary alloy of Taoist tradition, hip-hop music, poetry, forward-looking philosophy and arresting performance presentation.

In this penultimate installment of the ongoing Mik Nawooj saga, Black Swordsman of dominance is chosen as the one to trigger the Great Integration of the world before the arrival of Celestial King. When all the five lords of material realm are conquered, the old world we know will merge into one and the Great Celestial King will descend from ninth heaven to wipe out all the impurities of the world, thus creating a new world with brand new paradigm. It is an allegory that the music director of EMN, JooWan Kim, finds particularly apt for the approaching end times prophesied by the Mayan and other cultures in 2012 and, more importantly, for the new era that these tribulations will usher in.

This music, written by JooWan Kim, helped secure him a management contract with jazz legend Ahmad Jamal (2006-2009) and a lifetime endorsement by the Steinway & Sons Piano Company (2007). (It) incorporates elements from hip-hop and classical, creating a unique hybrid that is in the spirit of Gershwin and Piazzolla, both of whom pushed and blurred the boundaries of vernacular and art music.

Backed by his own Ensemble Mik Nawooj, featuring MC Kirby Dominant, JooWan Kim succeeds in accomplishing what most musicians want to but are unable to; creating a new kind of music that combines genres that are seemingly incompatible with each other.

At this show, there will be a world premiere of a new piece by JooWan Kim, written for Jazz vocalist Christopher Nicholas and piano trio.

This will be the longest show of 2010 for Ensemble Mik Nawooj.

Official Website: http://goldenfetus.com/