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Alash Ensemble

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The ensemble Alash is a throat singing group from Tuva that performs traditional Tuvan music with some non-traditional influences.

[edit] History

The musicians of Alash are Mai-ool Sedip, Ayan-ool Sam, Ayan Shirizhik, Sergei Sotpa and Bady-Dorzhu Ondar, all of whom were trained in traditional Tuvan music since childhood. Bady-Dorzhu Ondar and Ayan-ool Sam both studied with master throat singer Kongar-ool Ondar at the Republic School for the Arts in Kyzyl.

In 1999, when the five young musicians were students at the Kyzyl Arts College, they started a group called Changy-Xaya that became the resident traditional ensemble at the school. At the same time, however, they were learning harmony, theory, staff notation and western classical music. They began to incorporate non-traditional elements and instruments that mesh well with the sound and feel of traditional Tuvan music. They use old instruments such as the murgu, shoor, and limpi (wind instruments) that are not frequently played in Tuva today, as well as distinctly western instruments such as guitars and accordions.

The outgrowth of this musical exploration is the ensemble Alash, which is named for the Alash River that flows through the musicians' home region of Tuva. Kongar-ool Ondar is the artistic director, and he has played a key role in the development of the ensemble.

In 2004, Alash won first prize at the International Symposium "Khoomei," throat singing competition. In 2005, ensemble member Bady-Dorzhu Ondar was named the best male singer at the Ustuu-Khuree festival.

Alash toured the U.S.A. in 2006 at the invitation of the Open World Leadership Center at the Library of Congress with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Sean Quirk, originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin (USA), is the group's manager, producer, and interpreter. Quirk and the other members of Alash are also members of the Tuvan National Orchestra.

[edit] Recordings

The CD "Alash Live at the Enchanted Garden" is a recording of the group's live performance at the Enchanted Garden in Ridgefield, CT, U.S.A. on March 17, 2006.

[edit] External links

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