Musicians from Inner Mongolia to perform at Phillips Center

October 17, 2011

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — AnDa Union, a 10-member group of acoustic musicians and throat singers from Inner Mongolia, brings its unique musical style to the Phillips Center for Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 20.

Self-described as music gatherers, AnDa Union finds inspiration in forgotten Mongolian music that nearly disappeared during China’s tumultuous past.

“Our music draws from all the Mongol tribes that Genghis Khan unified,” Nars, the group’s leader said. “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.”

AnDa Union demonstrates versatility, moving fluently from hoomai, the guttural throat song, to the clear long notes of urtinduu, long-song. The group utilizes various instruments, including the morin khuur (a horse-hair fiddle), the maodun chaoer (a three-holed flute) and Mongolian versions of the lute and mouth harp.

The mission of AnDa Union is to stimulate its culture and reengage young Mongols, many of whom have forgotten how to speak their own language.

AnDa Union was the subject of a documentary film about the power of music at the heart of a rarely seen way of life, which was recently selected to be part of the 55th British Film Institute International Film Festival.

Tickets are on sale and available for this performance. Call 352-392-ARTS (2787) or 800-905-ARTS (toll free within Florida), or visit www.performingarts.ufl.edu for more information.