Sunday, April 18, 2010 Concert at 7:30 pm Children's show at 4:00 pm Alash Ensemble Tuvan Throat singers "Utterly stunning. Audience members picked their jaws up off the floor." - Washington Post. "Seemed to demonstrate superhuman powers using their vocal chords." - Cornell Daily Sun
Crossroads Music 48th and Baltimore Ave. (in Calvary United Methodist Church) http://www.crossroadsconcerts.org or 215-729-1028 Tickets are $20, $10 discount, $30 for supporters, $5 for 12 and under. No charge for caregivers at the children's event. The Alash Ensemble is a quartet of master throat singers (xöömeizhi) from Tuva, a tiny republic in the heart of Central Asia. The ancient art of throat singing (xöömei) developed among the nomadic herdsmen of this region. Alash, who take their name from a river that runs through northwestern Tuva and is the subject of several songs, remains grounded in this tradition while expanding its musical vocabulary with new ideas from the West. Alash first astonished Philadelphia audiences at a Crossroads concert in 2006; in the spring of 2008, we reconnected them with Philadelphia avant-jazz legends from the Sun Ra Arkestra (whom they had first met in Switzerland several years before). While a few members of the Arkestra may be sitting in for part of the second set, this year's performance will have a more Tuvan focus. We are also hoping to have a throat singing lesson before the concert if the band's travel schedule permits and will post more information about that soon. Alash's members were trained in traditional Tuvan music since childhood, first learning from their families, and later becoming students of master throat singers. In 1999, as students at Kyzyl Arts College, they formed a group called Changy-Xaya. They practiced in the damp college basement on Kochetovo Street, and soon became the resident traditional ensemble on campus. At the same time they learned about western music, practiced on hybrid Tuvan-European instruments, and listened to new trends coming out of America. Under the guidance of Kongar-ool Ondar (best known to western audiences for his role in the film Genghis Blues), they began to forge a new musical identity. The musicians are inspired by the music of their grandparents, great-grandparents, and the great musicians of Tuva and Central Asia, but at the same time they are influenced by such western artists as Sun Ra and Jimi Hendrix. Still, they never sacrifice the integrity of their heritage in an effort to make their music more hip for an American audience. Rather they look for contemporary ideas that mesh well with the sound and feel of traditional Tuvan music. Both the Alash ensemble and individual members have consistently won top honors in throat singing competitions. The ensemble was awarded first prize in Tuva's International Xöömei Symposium competition in 2004. At the Fifth International Xöömei Symposium in 2008, three Alash musicians swept the top prizes for individual throat singing, and the fourth took top honors for his duet performance with his wife. In 2007, Alash member Bady-Dorzhu Ondar was named People's Xöömeizhi of the Republic of Tuva, the youngest person ever to receive this prestigious award. In 2009, Alash member Ayan Shirizhik was named a Merited Artist of Tuva. Even Alash's American manager, Sean Quirk, was named a Merited Artist of Tuva for his contribution to Tuvan culture. In addition, Quirk and all Alash members play in the Tuvan National Orchestra, which has won both first prize and grand prize in the All-Russia National Orchestra and Ensemble Competition. -- Upcoming events Saturday, May 1, 2010 at 7:30 pm Generations of Resistance, featuring: Anne Feeney - unionmaid, hell raiser, and labor singer "Congratulations on your fine songwriting!" - Pete Seeger "Anne Feeney is the best labor singer in North America." - Utah Phillips Evan Greer - Songs to inspire hope, build community and incite resistance "Songs [that] will be heard at the barricades for years to come." - Tom Morello, Rage Against the Machine "An eloquent and energetic writer." - Howard Zinn Roy Zimmerman - Funny songs about ignorance, war, and greed "Lacerating wit & keen awareness of society's foibles that bring to mind a latter-day Tom Lehrer." - Los Angeles Times "Reintroducing literacy to comedy songs." - Tom Lehrer Friday, May 21, 2010 at 7:30 pm Bruce Molsky & Ale Moller - Appalachian old time and Swedish traditional music "The Rembrandt of Appalachian fiddling." - Darrol Anger. "Among the most talented, active and prolific on the Swedish scene." - Dirty Linen -- Crossroads Music is in part supported by the Philadelphia Cultural Fund and the Samuel S. Fels Fund. This project is supported by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency, through the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA), its regional arts funding partnership. State government funding for the arts depends upon an annual appropriation by the Pennsylvania General Assembly and from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. PPA is administred in this region by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance.
