Anda Union CHAN CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS AT UBC
“Our music includes a shared history, from our childhoods we grew up together. For more than ten years we have laughed, quarreled, and cried but today we are still ‘anda’, because of our music we have become true ‘andas’.” - Anda Union (Anda means a chosen “blood brother” or “blood sister”)
Anda Union
Presented by the CHAN CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
Pre-show Talk
7:15pm, Royal Bank Cinema With Tim Pearce, Manager of Anda Union
Concert
Anda Union Nars Saikhannakhaa Uni Urgen Urgen Chinggel Chinggeltu Tsetsegmaa Biligbaatar
8:00pm, Chan Shun Concert Hall
morin huur, ikil, hoomei, guitar vocals, tob shur, morin huur, hoomei tob shur, ikil, hoomei, morin huur vocals, morin huur drums percussion, moadin chor, hoomei morin huur urtyn duu urtyn duu
There will be one 20-minute intermission. Set list to be announced from the stage. Please remember to turn off your phones, and note that photography and recording are not permitted. Thank you!
“Each step for us is a continuous exploration. We are constantly evolving our songs, new and old. With every performance we learn something new.� - Anda Union
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Anda Union As with all nomads, the Mongols have an oral culture, passing their history from generation to generation through stories, music and songs. Drawing on a repertoire of magical music that had all but disappeared during China’s recent tumultuous past, Anda Union are part of a musical movement that finds inspiration in old and forgotten songs. Anda Union combine different traditions and styles of music from all over Mongolia, developing an innovation previously unheard of. The very existence of a music group like Anda Union is new to Inner Mongolia:
“Our music draws from all the Mongol tribes that Genghis Khan unified. We all have different ethnic backgrounds and we bring these influences into our music. There is a wealth of folk music for us to learn, so far our repertoire of songs is like a drop in the ocean.”
The group describe themselves as music gatherers, digging deep into Mongol traditions and unearthing forgotten music. They are on a mission to stimulate their culture and re-engage young Mongols, many of whom have forgotten how to speak their own language. Anda Union member Saikhannakhaa runs a bar in the capital Hohhot, where she promotes music. “I found an old golden wheel with half its spokes broken in an old dusty shop. It looks like a wheel that once turned the warrior carts of the great Mongol armies. I hang this wheel in my bar as a warning to Mongolian people that our culture is broken and needs to be mended.” Since its formation in 2000, Anda Union has influenced a generation of young Mongolians in Inner Mongolia. Hailing from differing ethnic nomadic cultures, the band unites their unique tribal and music traditions in an exhilarating fusion. Anda Union’s most recent album, Homeland, was released in September of 2016 to great acclaim. It was recorded with 14 time GRAMMY Award winning producer and sound engineer Richard King whose credits include Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road and the film soundtrack for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon among others. The Guardian praised Homeland, calling it “stirring, sophisticated Mongolian folk.”
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Biographies Nars: Nars grew up in the Horchin grasslands with his grandparents who were traditional herders. His grandfather was also a musician, and became his teacher and mentor from an early age. At age 12, Nars went to live in Chifeng to study music and met other students, four of whom would become members of Anda Union. After graduating, Nars moved to Hohhot and joined the Inner Mongolia Music and Dance Troupe where he met the rest of the band. Today, Nars runs a music school with his parents. He also collaborates and performs with orchestras across China and Korea. Urgen: Urgen grew up in a village two hours from Ar Horchin, and has been friends with Nars since childhood. As a little boy, his job was to take the sheep into the fields to graze. When he was growing up, his older brother Bagana won a scholarship to study music in the city where he was tragically killed by a drunk driver. Urgen was already a budding musician but this tragic loss spurred him on to become a top performer, striving to fulfil his brother’s dream. He is married to Sitchentoya, who is a children’s TV presenter for Mongol TV. Uni:
Uni is the founder of Anda Union. He grew up around Ar Horchin and met Nars and Urgen at comprehensive school. He learned music from a young age, and went on to study music at Chifeng Music College with Nars, Urgen, and Chinggel. He later went to Hohhot to work with the Inner Mongolia Music and Dance Troupe where the group was eventually formed. He lives in Hohhot with his wife who is a dancer.
Chinggel: Chinggel grew up in a traditional herding family in the Ongniud grasslands
and has three sisters. He studied morin huur in Chifeng, but now mainly performs moadin chor, a type of Mongolian reed flute. He is one of only four musicians in Inner Mongolia who can play this type of flute. Today, his passion for the moadin chor has led him to become an instrument maker. He crafts both the moadin chor reed flute as well as the Mongolian metal flute. He loves to drive his large Yamaha motorbike through the streets of Hohhot.
Saikhannakhaa: Saikhannakhaa spent holidays on the grasslands with her grandparents, close to Tongliao in eastern Inner Mongolia, where she learned music from a young age. After winning a prize for the most talented female morin huur player, she was invited to join the Inner Mongolia Song and Dance Troupe where she became their first professional female musician member. Today she runs a successful Mongolian bar in Hohhot with her family. She is married to a dancer and they have one son.
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Urgen:
Urgen (yes, there are two!) is a drummer and multi-instrumentalist who was raised in Ar Horchin. His father taught music at the Mongolian University in Hohhot and was responsible for Urgen’s musical upbringing. In addition to being an excellent drummer, Urgen also plays morin huur, guitar and piano.
Chinggeltu: Chinggeltu is from Ar Horchin, and is the youngest member of Anda Union. He has studied the bass morin huur at universities in both Ulanbaatar and Hohhot.
Tsetsegmaa: Tsetsegmaa is one of the finest Mongolian long-song singers in the world today. A Buriat, she grew up near Hulun Buir in the remote region northwest of Inner Mongolia near the border of Russia and Mongolia. She works with the Inner Mongolia Music and Dance Troupe, and has won many prizes and awards for her astounding voice. She is also a composer and has written a number of songs in the Buriat language which she perfoms with Anda Union. She is based in Hohhot and has one sister. Biligbaatar: Biligbaatar grew up in grasslands of Hexigten where much of his extended
family still lives and herds the family livestock. He was taught long-song as a child by his mother, and went on to become a long-song gold medalist. Biligbaatar is also an expert horseman, and is based in Hohhot with his wife who is also a singer.
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Anda Union Instruments The morin huur, commonly known as the “horse head fiddle”, is a two-stringed instrument that is played with a bow. It has a distinctive and beautiful sound that has become synonymous with Mongolian culture. One legend about the origin of the morin huur tells of a shepherd named Namjil the Cuckoo who receives the gift of a flying horse. At night he flies to meet his beloved, until one day a jealous woman has the horse’s wings cut off, causing the horse to fall from the air and die. The grieving shepherd crafts the first horse head fiddle from the horse’s skin and tail hair. The tob shur is a Mongolian two-stringed lute, traditionally used to accompany a singer. The moadin chor is a Mongolian reed flute that is performed while simultaneously singing in the hoomei throat singing style. Anda Union’s Chinggel is one of only four known musicians in Inner Mongolia to have mastered this rare and difficult instrument. The double-sided sheep skin Mongolian drum used in performance by Anda Union was designed and created by members of the group, with influence from ancient Tuvan drums. The skins were tanned locally in the grasslands of Mongolia.
Anda Union Singing Styles Hoomei is a style of singing also known as overtone or throat singing. To create the overtones, the singer manipulates the resonances created as air travels from the lungs, past the vocal folds, and out the lips to produce a melody. This unique type of singing involves the production of two distinctively audible pitches at the same time. There are many styles of hoomei from the different parts of Mongolia and Tuva and Anda Union have been trained in a range of these methods. In the concert, you will notice the very distinctive styles, from very low singing to high pitched. The sound is very reminiscent of the wind blowing through the grasses on the Mongolian grasslands. Styles of hoomei used by Anda Union include: the low, soft, drone-sounding khomeii; the whistling or flute-like isgre; the growling kargyraa; the acrobatic and quivering uyelje; the pulsating ezenggileer; and the chirping chylandyk. The name urtyn duu, or long-song, is derived not from the length of the songs but rather the long notes which are held. Often a song has very few words, one three minutes long might only have ten words. This style of singing evolved in the grasslands as the Mongolians tended their sheep and was used to sing to the animals to call and to calm them. Mongolian music records and maps the landscape of their land, not merely in words, but in the rising and falling of notes corresponding to the flow of the land itself. UNESCO declared the Mongolian long-song one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005. 8
Exploring the role of the arts and artists in society. chancentre.com/connects
Pre-show Talk with Tim Pearce
7:15pm: Royal Bank Cinema, Chan Centre Anda Union manager Tim Pearce has an international career in film, music and theatre that spans over 40 years. He met Anda Union at the Shanghai International Arts Festival in 2006 and has spent the last 11 years developing their international career and working with Mongolian culture in China. His film producer credits include a 2011 documentary film about the group titled Anda Union – From the Steppes to the City. In this pre-show talk, Tim discusses the past, present and future of the ensemble.
Anda Union Throat Singing Workshop This morning at MBA House in Wesbrook Village, members of Anda Union conducted a special all-ages workshop as part of the Chan Centre Connects series that included a throat singing demonstration and lesson. Special thanks to Wesbrook Village for partnering with us on this event!
UBC School of Music Fanfares The fanfare that was performed in the lobby prior to this concert (7:30pm and 7:45pm) was commissioned by the Chan Centre from UBC student composer Katerina Gimon as part of an ongoing partnership with the UBC School of Music. Azura Quartet Chinley Hinacay Soprano Saxophone Mo Miao Alto Saxophone Haley Heinricks Tenor Saxophone Mia Gazley Baritone Saxophone Dancing Flames evokes the vigour and curiosity of fire. The piece’s interweaving melodic lines and rhythmic energy playfully characterize fire in its many forms: from glowing embers to raging flames. Katerina Gimon (b. 1993) is an award-winning emerging composer currently based in Vancouver where she is pursuing her Masters of Music Composition at the University of British Columbia. Her music has been performed and broadcast across Canada, the United States, and Europe. www.katerinagimon.com
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Upcoming Events at the Chan Centre Full details at chancentre.com
Mar 31 at 12pm: UBC Symphonic Wind Ensemble: (Un)Plugged Presented by the UBC School of Music
Mar 31 at 8pm: University Singers and UBC Choral Union Presented by the UBC School of Music
Apr 1 at 8pm: UBC Bands: (Un)Plugged Presented by the UBC School of Music Apr 2 at 7pm: Conjure the Night Presented by Pangburn Philosophy Apr 5 at 8pm: Tinariwen with special guests Dengue Fever Presented by Live Nation Apr 8 at 8pm: A Song of Joys: Celebrating the Chan Centre at 20 Presented by the UBC School of Music in partnership with the Chan Centre
Apr 9 at 7pm: Max Raabe & Palast Orchester Presented by the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts
MAX RAABE & PALAST ORCHESTER 10
The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC Joyce Hinton Cameron McGill Jazel Argente Carl Armstrong Wendy Atkinson Brad Danyluk Kara Gibbs David Humphrey Flora Lew Glenda Makela Trevor Mangion Chloe Martin-Cabanne Caitlin McKee Claire Mohun George Pereira Andrew Riter Nadia Roberts Lyndsey Roberts Kim Smith
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“The music we do is weaved together through
stories and life When The Chan Centre would likeexperiences. to thank our 2016/2017 seriespeople sponsors: come to hear us, I hope they are uplifted The Chan Endowment Fund and the UBC Faculty of Arts
and that we give them a lot to take home.” – Dianne Reeves (San Diego Union-Tribune, 2016)
C E L E B R AT I N G T H E C H A N C E N T R E AT 2 0
Mozart Requiem Graeme Langager conductor Chatman A Song of Joys Jonathan Girard conductor
UBC Symphony Orchestra • University Singers • UBC Choral Union Julia Chien timpani • Aaron Graham percussion
SAT APRIL 8, 2017 8PM CHAN CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
Tickets and info at tickets.ubc.ca PRESENTED BY THE UBC SCHOOL OF MUSIC IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CHAN CENTRE