Composing Cultural Bridges: Dr. Christopher Adler's New Chapter with Fulbright in South Korea

In our interconnected world, cultural exchange and mutual understanding are of the utmost importance. For Professor Christopher Adler, PhD, a distinguished scholar in music and the director of the Asian Studies program at the University of San Diego, this mission manifests through composing contemporary music with traditional Asian instruments. This fall, Dr. Adler, who has been honored with the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship, ventures to South Korea to do just that. 

Adler’s passion for composing music, specifically for Asian instruments, began during his undergraduate and graduate studies. At MIT, he was deeply inspired by his composition teacher, Evan Ziporyn, whose integration of diverse musical traditions, including Balinese Gamelan, profoundly influenced his career path. 

“Ziporyn is someone who had made a really big investment in learning this foreign tradition and then made that part of his music,” says Adler. “That became a model for how I went forward because I'm doing the very same thing, just with different traditions and instruments.”

During his PhD program at Duke University, Adler discovered a love for Thai musical instruments — particularly the khaen, a wind instrument central to traditional Thai and Lao music. “It really appealed to me. It was very exotic and unusual, and also a solo tradition … something I could play while in North Carolina,” says Adler.

Read the full article on page 36 of Arts & Sciences magazine (Fall 2024 issue).

The USD College of Arts and Sciences released its second annual Arts & Sciences magazine this fall. In the pages of this magazine, you will discover exciting new programs and initiatives, meaningful and impactful stories, and inspiring student, faculty and alumni spotlights.