Throatsingers of Tuva Come to NYC

Khogzhumchu is a musical ensemble from the Republic of Tuva in Russia, consisting of four masters of the region’s ancient tradition of throat-singing. The group is led by Andrey Mongush, who founded Khogzhumchu in 2007, and also includes Aykhan Oorzhak, Evgeny Saryglar and Kan-Khuler Saaya. Over the past two years, the ensemble has given a number of performances in Russia and abroad, including an appearance before the Dalai Lama at the first annual “Festival of Buddhist Culture of Russia and Mongolia” in India (2007), and the annual “Ustu-Huure” world music festival in Chadan, Tuva (2008). In 2009 Khogzhumchu performed at the “Ocean of Compassion” ethnic and rock music festival in the Republic of Kalmykia, the “Ocean of Compassion” charity concert in Moscow, and the “Mongl Xöömei” international symposium in Mongolia. This will be the ensemble’s first appearance in the U.S.

Throat-singing, or overtone singing, is the audible expression of producing two or more notes at once. This startling technique was developed in response to the sounds of the natural environment in which Central Asian nomad tribes roamed. A particularly rich throat singing tradition survives in Tuva and neighboring Mongolia. In these areas, marked by vast grasslands and mountain ranges, throat singing is called khoomei. The singer extracts overtones by varying the shape of his mouth and pharynx: as a result two, three, or even four distinct tones can be heard at once. As the fundamental tone remains constant, melodies are sung with the highest overtone, resembling the sound of a flute.

Wednesday, October 14th 

Rubin Museum of Art

150 West 17th Street

New York, NY

7:00pm

$20

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