Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Date of Degree
9-2025
Document Type
Doctoral Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Musical Arts
Program
Music
Advisor
Yayoi Everett
Committee Members
Anne Stone
Emily Wilbourne
Deborah Wong
Subject Categories
Music Performance | Music Practice
Keywords
Asian American, improvisation, Miya Masaoka, yuniya edi kwon, Vijay Iyer
Abstract
The purpose of my dissertation is to explore how contemporary Asian Americans artist-performers have formulated their identities through collaborations with the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). The project addresses issues in the existing literature on this topic and provides an alternative framework of cosmopolitanism to understanding the multidimensional aspects of artistic collaborations. The dissertation examines the history of the AACM and the Asian American improvisers and reveals ideological differences among its members on how music should reflect their identities. These histories paved the way for the artist subjects of my three case studies: Miya Masaoka, Vijay Iyer, and yuniya edi kwon. I examine the work and philosophies of each artist using interviews, recordings, analysis, and transcriptions of their improvisations. Finally, in my last case study on yuniya edi kwon, I examine the intersection of cosmopolitanism and Judith Butler’s ideas on performance and gender constitution to illustrate how formations of culture and identity can lead to social transformations.
Recommended Citation
Wu, Johnna, "Asian American Artists, Improvisation, and Collaboration" (2025). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/6453
