2 minute read
The New Beginnings Festival
An event to empower communities and lift the spirit
On 19 March, the museum will host the New Beginnings Festival, a free, family-friendly event presented by Settlement Services International. Raphael Brasil profiles one of the festival’s major artists, musician Bukhchuluun Ganburged.
Musician Bukhchuluun Ganburged and his traditional Mongolian morin khuur (horsehead fiddle). Image courtesy Cooper Brady and SSI
WHEN MONGOLIAN MUSICIAN Bukhchuluun Ganburged (Bukhu) first arrived in Australia, he couldn’t speak English, but he had to learn the language so he could explain his culture and music to people intrigued by his busking. Since then he has become a cultural ambassador for his country, taking his virtuosic talents with the morin khuur (horsehead fiddle) and khuumii (Mongolian harmonicovertone throat singing) to the Sydney Opera House and WOMADelaide and to audiences in Europe and Asia. Bukhu has a Bachelor degree from the Music and Dance Conservatory of Ulaanbaatar (the capital of Mongolia). He performs Mongolian folk music, bringing a contemporary take on the tradition of Mongolian bards and acting as a national memory bank by working mythologies, historical figures and events into traditional verse form.
Based in Sydney since 2009, he was granted the prestigious Distinguished Talent Visa by the Australian government as an internationally recognised artist with exceptional contributions to the arts. He is a member of Sydney bands Equus and Horse & Wood, and was formerly a member of the Morin Khuur Ensemble, Khangal Quartet and Domog folk bands. He says the morin khuur is important culturally because it is a significant part of Mongolian nomadic life. He learned to play the beautiful instrument from his uncle, who was taught by his grandfather. Bukhu hopes to pass the tradition on to his two children. Khuumii is a technique with origins in Mongolian shamanism, whereby a single performer simultaneously produces up to three separate vocal lines. Bukhu says it is deeply spiritual, connecting the sky to the earth and the soul to the body: ‘Every single note is connected to the spirit.’ In addition to preserving and passing on Mongolian folk traditions, Bukhu is also an accomplished contemporary composer, with recent live performances exploring experimental and electro-acoustic sound palettes – using loops and edits created on pedals, portable devices, samplers, synthesisers, sequencers and drum machines.
Visitors to the Maritime Museum will be able to hear Bukhu at Settlement Services International’s New Beginnings Festival on 19 March. New Beginnings is a multi-form arts festival that showcases the artistic vibrancy and cultural heritage of migrant and refugee artists.
Settlement Services International has long recognised the enormous potential of the arts to help people forge their identities and build more inclusive communities for everyone. Being able to experience – and participate in – the arts and cultural life is essential to the wellbeing of every human being. For refugees and new migrants to Australia, such interactions have a doubly important role. By providing a platform for connection and self-expression, arts and culture initiatives can empower individuals, bring communities together and help build a stronger society. Others in the 2022 festival line-up include rapper BARKAA, a Malyangapa/Barkindji woman from Western New South Wales, and Gordon Koang, who is a household name in South Sudan, an astounding performer with nine albums under his belt. Gordon recently arrived in Australia seeking refuge from a country torn by civil war. To find out more about the New Beginnings Festival, see newbeginningsfestival.com.au/. Raphael Brasil is Settlement Services International’s Arts and Culture Producer.
