BLOG

In 2011 I inaugurated a blog called the Interpreter's Forum, where performers of my compositions can meet one another and share their experiences, observations and advice.

scholarly articles and presentations

"The Calcuated Groove of Postminimal Percussion." Lecture/Recital with Andrew Bliss, presented at the LIVEWIRE Conference, University of Maryland Baltimore County (October 28-30, 2010). Download PDF with figures (2.1MB).

Reflections on Cross-Cultural Composition, in Arcana II: Musicians on Music, edited by John Zorn, Hips Road/Tzadik, 2007.
In this article, I survey my cross-cultural compositions from 1996-2006 and discuss my relationship to traditional Southeast Asian musics and the evolution of my thinking about methodology, ethics and aesthetics.

Drone Placement and Fingering in Traditional and Contemporary Music for Khaen, The Free-Reed Journal 3 (2002)
In this article, I discuss the traditional fingerings used to play the khaen, and one of my techniques for composing new khaen music by altering fingerings.

Cross-cultural Hybridity in Music Composition: Southeast Asia in three works from America. unpublished, 1998.
This is an unpublished manuscript about cross-cultural hybridity in contemporary musical composition, with analyses of works by Chinary Ung, Michael Tenzer and Evan Ziporyn, written in 1998. The full text, without figures, is available here.

resources for composers

Khaen: The Bamboo Free-Reed Mouth Organ of Laos and Northeast Thailand: Notes for Composers. Download PDF. (Revised, 2009)

reviews

Review of Anthology of World Music: The Music of Laos (Rounder Records, 1999/196?), Asian Music 32, no. 2: 200–203 (2001)
Review of Anthology of World Music: The Music of Laos (Rounder Records, 1999/196?), The Classical Free-Reed, Inc. (April 12, 2000)
These are reviews of the Rounder Records re-release of a CD of Lao music. The review in Asian Music is more extensive and detailed, whereas the web review focuses on the khaen.

brief articles and varia

A brief contribution to Exploring Music & Spirituality, 2009. Download PDF.

This is a brief critique of a review of my CD Epilogue for a Dark Day, which appeared in the September, 2004 issue of the New Music Box. Although this review is quite positive, it contains incorrect assertions about traditional Lao music and my compositions which are clarified in my critique. [The original review is no longer available on-line.]

This is a letter which I sent to National Public Radio's Weekend Edition critiquing a piece on techno music, portions of which were read over the air in August, 2002.

This article discusses an older composition for the Chinese free-reed mouth organ sheng.
"wind-chime, a Hybrid Composition for Sheng", Music from China Newsletter 7, no. 1: 8–10 (Spring–Summer, 1998)

Finally, an interview.
Interview with Dr. Sam-Ang Sam, Executive Director of the Cambodian Network Council, ethnomusicologist and performer of Khmer traditional music, Society for Ethnomusicology Newsletter 30, no. 4: 3, 23–24 (September, 1996)

contact
adler@alum.mit.edu
619.260.7502
Christopher Adler, University of San Diego Music Program, 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, 92110-2492