AnDa Union S at u r day NOV 5 7:30pm
Sponsored by Dave and Gunda Hiebert Please join us in the Pavilion for a Post-Performance Meet and Greet with the artists. During their artists residency, the group participated in free engagement activities including showings of their documentary film, From the Steppes to the City, at Liberty Hall in Lawrence and the Kansas City Public Library; a jam session with local musicians; and educational classes with middle school, high school and university students. This event is sponsored, in part, by the Lied Performance Fund. Audio description services and recorded program notes are provided through a partnership between the Lied Center and Audio-Reader Network. Please turn off or silence cellular phones and other electronic devices during performances. Food and drink are not allowed inside the hall. Cameras and recording devices are strictly prohibited in the auditorium.
AnDa Union Pl ay l i st The songs will be selected from at least the following: Altargana Derlcha Galloping Horses Genghis Khan Give You a Rose Heemor Holy Mountain Hometown Hoorai Mother Ordos Drinking Song Sumaro The Legend of the Swan Brothers Wan Li Exact playlist and order are subject to change. There will be a 20-minute intermission.
AnDa Union
Progr a m N ot es Altargana Altargana is based on a famous Buriat folk song. The Buriats live in the northeast corner of Inner Mongolia in Hulun Buir, close to the Russian border. Altargana is a type of small grass that grows in Hulun Buir. It has very deep roots and is very difficult to pull up. This song tells how parents are like Altargana grass; strongly rooted and looking after their children. Boomborai Boomborai is based on a folk song from the Horchin grasslands. It comes from ancient Mongolian shaman traditions and tells how one of the shaman dance rituals, Andai, was born. If a woman was depressed because of problems in love and marriage, her family would invite the local shaman to dance Andai to keep away disease and misfortune. It is said that once upon a time, there lived a father and his daughter on the Horchin grasslands. One day, the daughter, suddenly stricken by an unknown disease, lost her mind and began to behave strangely. She remained ill for a long time and showed no sign of recovery. The father, full of anxiety, carried his daughter on a herdsman’s wooden cart to a faraway place to see a doctor. However, when they arrived at the town of Kulun, the axle of the cart broke. At the same time, the girl’s condition worsened and her life was in danger. The anxious father had no idea what to do except to wander around the cart, singing a song to express his sorrow. The wailing song drew people from nearby villages. They couldn’t help but shed tears at this sight and joined the old man in swinging their arms and wailing around the cart. To everyone’s surprise, the daughter quietly rose, got off the cart began swinging her arms and stamping her feet with the others. When people saw her, she was sweating all over and her disease had been miraculously cured. The good news spread and people began to dance around young women who suffered from similar diseases in the same manner. The dance became known as Andai.
Derlcha Derlcha is an ancient Mongolian singing competition. Originally it was kings and princes of banners (regions) that took part, but today it is a popular art. It is often part of a festival or Nadaam. During the Derlcha two people battle against each other. Each person sings a verse and the other replies. The battle can go on for days until one of the singers cannot think of anything to sing. The winner then ridicules the loser in front of the crowd before a new challenger takes on the winner. The competition goes on until one singer is left and declared the winner. The winners of these competitions became very good at remembering verses and developing skills to overcome their opponents. For centuries, Mongolian children have practiced Derlcha battles with their friends as a game. Nars, himself, used to do Derlcha battles with his friends when he was growing up in the Horchin grasslands and AnDa Union’s version is based on verses used in the ancient Derlcha battles.
Galloping Horses Galloping Horses is undoubtedly the most famous piece of music composed for the morin huur, a traditional Mongolian bowed stringed instrument. It was written by the Master Chi Bulag who created the piece after watching a fierce horse race, in which the winning horse staggered over the finishing line, collapsed and died of exhaustion. Chi Bulag was central to the evolution of the morin huur; taking the ancient chuur huur and developing it into what we know today as the morin huur.
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Genghis Khan This song is performed at auspicious Mongolian ceremonies, such as weddings, and is often used to start the proceedings. It brings good luck. Genghis Khan is revered by Mongolians as the founder of their culture. He united Mongolian tribes and created their written language. Although he didn’t unify China, his grandson Kublai Khan did establish the Yuan Dynasty. He is so important that many Mongolians make the pilgrimage to the Genghis Khan Mausoleum in Ordos. Give You a Rose This song is based on a very popular Uyghur folk song from Xinjang. Heemor – The Wind Horse Heemor, the wind horse, is an allegory for the human soul in the shamanistic tradition of central Asia. It has also been integrated into Mongolian and Tibetan Buddhism. Heemor is a symbol of well-being or good fortune. As Heemor rises things go well and as it falls the opposite happens. Heemor takes our prayers to Tengar, the sky god. This beautiful piece of music, inspired by Heemor, was composed by Yalalt, who lives and works in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. Holy Mountain The moadin chur, an ancient Mongolian reed flute, is inspired by the sounds of the mountains and waters. This song is dedicated to the Holy Mountain. Before Ghengis Khan became mighty he hid in the Holy Mountain several times to escape danger and find strength. Traditionally, the elders also went there to pray and find solace. The reeds for the moadin chur are now mostly found in the Altai Mountains in Xinjiang and it is there that most moadin chur music is played today.
Hometown This song is inspired by the steady destruction of the grasslands as farming and mining, combined with the effects of global climate change, encroach on the area. The lyrics were written by Urgen who left his home in the grasslands when he was 13 years old to train at music school in the city. He has never returned but his heart, and the hearts of the other AnDa Union members, remains there. But the grasslands are no longer the grasslands of their childhoods. This song appeals for the grasslands to be saved and preserved. Lyrics My hometown the place where I was born was far away from here My close family how is your health My missing hometown is far away from here, my missing relatives how is your health? There is no water in the river, I am sad about that from heart, There is now water in the spring, I am sad about this from my mind Mother (Chagan Tokhoy Notuk) This is a song about mothers from Chagan Tokhoy, a mythical place in the Ujim Chin grasslands. It consists of two long songs combined into one. During one part of this song, Biligbaatar sings about how much they miss their mothers when they are far away. Lyrics Grey haired old mother, every moment every second we miss you our lovely mother. Also during this piece, Tsetsegmaa sings a Buriat song that a mother sings to her daughter when she is getting married. The Mongolian nomadic way of life is based on moving pastures four times a year so as to ensure that the grass is not over grazed. It also means that each herder will live far away from the next, also to stop over grazing. It is very common for a Buriat mother to sing this song to her daughter, as often the daughter will move far away to live with her husband’s family. Lyrics After you get married if you find a clean spring you can drink the water, if the daughter marries far from home that happens often.
AnDa Union
Ordos Drinking Song Drinking, especially milk wine, is very important to Mongolians especially at festive times and special occasions like weddings. They drink to inspire themselves, raise their spirits and then, sing drinking songs. There are many drinking songs but this one is in the Ordos tradition. Lyrics (extract) When the milk wine is in the bottle Just like small sheep in the pen When you drink the milk wine It is just like a tiger out of the pen We toast everything goes well for me and you Sumaro A young girl, Sumaro, is in love with a boy called Sanjay Mam. But this is no ordinary love and they are desperate to be together every day. When Sanjay Mam is not there Sumaro climbs to the top of the shrine so that she can see far over the Mongolian plains and waits all day for her lover to return. Sanjay Mam, desperate to see his love, rides his horse so fast that the dust billows behind him like the spray that rises from the lake as goose lands on the water. Lyrics (extract) Thinking and missing him, She couldn’t bear it. O Sumaru Climbing on top the shrine, she stares into the distance shading her eyes The Girl Who Stole Horses This is based on a famous Horchin folk song. A girl dresses as a boy in order to steal 33 horses from the rich and then gives them to the poor. This makes her famous and a popular heroine.
The Legend of the Swan Brothers Based on a Mongolian folk song, this tells the story of a very poor Mongolian man similar to Robin Hood. He steals from the rich and gives to the poor. Lyrics (extract) Five heroes they steal flocks and flocks of sheep from the rich They only left the rams for them Boydar, Tugno, Bolygor, Hassak They rob all the sheep They are 5 heroes Wan Li Based on a very famous Horchin folk song, this tells the tale of a very beautiful girl, Wan Li, in the Horchin grasslands. Everyone who sees the girl falls in love with her and because of this they wrote a song about her. Lyrics A man who walks under the big lanterns After seeing the beautiful girl Wan Lin Starts to walk like a drunken man When the man on the horse rides quickly past the girl He feels the girl is the most beautiful. When a man on a horse goes on the mountain The feet of the horse clip clop on the rocks When the horse is beside the girl Wan Li He feels the girl is the most beautiful. Very beautiful Hoy Exclusive North American Tour Direction: 2Luck Concepts, www.2Luck.com
Lyrics (extract) Grey small bird singing in the early morning The horse from the grassland rides towards the northwest
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A bo u t An Da Un i o n Anda means a blood brother or sister. For Mongolians, an “Anda” is more important than a birth brother because you choose a person to become an Anda, a life-long blood brother. AnDa Union is a brotherhood of Andas. The members of AnDa Union all took up music from an early age and developed a passion for traditional Mongolian music. Most of them came from musical families. At the Chifeng Music College, where many of the group studied, they stood out for their musical dedication and annoyed fellow students with their obsessive morin huur practice. In the capital city of Hohhot they became part of the Inner Mongolia Music and Dance Troupe and there they discovered other young Mongols who shared the same musical passion and ideals. In 2001, AnDa Union was formed and a unique styled of Mongolian music was born. They are part of a musical movement that finds inspiration in old and forgotten songs, drawing on a repertoire of magical music that had all but disappeared during China’s recent tumultuous past. As a group, they hold on to the essence of Mongolian music while creating a form of music that is new. Traditionally, music would be played in the Mongol Ger (Yurt), or in the grasslands. It would be informal, with the styles and instruments varying across the vast Inner Mongolian plains. AnDa Union combines a wide range of these styles into a unique feast of accessible Mongolian music. Nars, the group’s leader, said, “Our music draws from all the Mongol tribes that Genghis Khan (more properly known as Chinggis 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.”
AnDa Union
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 who no longer to speak their own language. Saikhannakhaa is fighting to reverse this trend by opening a bar in the 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 will hang this wheel in my bar as a warning to Mongolian people that our culture is broken and needs to be mended.” Hadanbaatar, the drummer adds, “Young Mongolians like us now understand how important our culture is, but maybe the next generation won’t care and we have to prevent this from happening.” AnDa Union members are fluent in singing and playing many instruments including the morin huur. The morin huur, or horse head fiddle, pays homage to the most important animal in the Mongol culture. Almost all houses have a morin huur hanging in the hallway. The members also play the maodun chaoer (a three-holed flute), as well as Mongolian versions of the lute and mouth harp. Although Mongolians are a race of musicians, the pseudo-folk music promoted in nationally run theatres and auditoriums in Inner Mongolia is far from the long song and horse head fiddle coming from the grasslands. AnDa Union is bound by a mission to promote the essence of this music to the world. Leader of the group Nars says, “Most of the band members have been playing together since childhood. As adults, we studied professional vocals and instruments together. We are like a family. Ten years ago, AnDa Union was forged and we haven’t looked back.”
M ee t t h e A rt i sts Nars Nars grew up in a village two hours from Ar Horqin, a town 880 kilometres northeast of the capital Hohhot. His family was traditional herders. He grew up living with his grandparents and spent summers on the grasslands living in a yurt, a wood latticeframed dwelling structure. His grandfather is a musician who plays many instruments including the accordion, morin huur, and other three stringed fiddles. His grandfather became his teacher and mentor from an early age. He went to primary school with Urgen who lived in a village nearby. At age 12, he boarded at Chifeng Music College where he shared a room with Chinggel and met Monkhjayaa and Uni. After graduating, all five of them went to Hohhot and joined the Inner Mongolia Music and Dance Troupe where they met Saikhannakhaa, Otgonbayar and Bataar. In 2001, they banded together to start AnDa Union. Today, Nars runs a music school teaching morin huur, tobshuur and hoomei to young people. If you visit his house you will be greeted by more than 20 students practicing the morin hor. His parents have now moved to Hohhot to help him run the school and they all live together in a house filled with students, beds and instruments. Urgen Urgen grew up in a village two hours from Ar Horqin, close to Nars. They are childhood friends. He lived with his parents and two brothers in a traditional herders’ lifestyle. As a little boy, his job was to take the sheep into the fields to graze. When he was 10, his older brother, Bagana, who was a musician, was killed by a drunk driver. Urgen was already a budding musician at this time, but this tragic loss spurred him to become a top performer, striving to fulfil his brother’s dream. He went to school in Ar Horqin with Nars where he also met Uni. He then went to Chifeng Music College and to Hohhot to join the Inner Mongolia Music and Dance Troupe. He is married to Toya, who is a children’s TV presenter for Mongol TV and they have a baby girl. They live in a flat in Hohhot in the same complex as Monkhjayaa.
Otgonbayar Otgonbayar grew up in the grasslands an hour from the town of Ujim Qin. He is the youngest of seven children, all of whom are incredibly musical. As a little boy, his father made a morin huur for him to play and taught him the old ways of playing the horse head fiddle. His father was his inspiration to become a musician. Otgonbayar’s father died while he was still a boy and his oldest brother became his father figure. They were a nomadic family, herding sheep and horses until 10 years ago, when laws were passed to divide up the grassland and restrict herder’s movements and livestock. Otgonbayar went to school in Ujim Qin. He now lives in Hohhot with his wife who is a long-song singer. Uni Uni grew up around Ar Horqin and met Nars and Urgen at school. He learned music from a young age. His father was a councillor in the local communist government. He studied music at Chifeng Music College with Nars, Urgen, Chinggel and Monkhjayaa. He went to Hohhot to work with Inner Mongolia Music and Dance Troupe and was a founder of AnDa Union. He lives in Hohhot with his wife who is a dancer. Chinggel Chinggel grew up in Ongniud Qi, in the same region as Monkhjayaa. His family are herders. He went to Chifeng Music College where he studied morin huur, but now plays mainly flute. He is one of only four musicians in Inner Mongolia who can play the moadin chor. Today, his passion for the moadin chor has led him to start making these reed flutes as well as Mongolian metal flutes. He loves to drive his large Yamaha motorbike through the streets of Hohhot. He has an older sister who is a dancer.
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Saikhannakhaa Saikhannakhaa is from Tongliao and spent holidays on the grasslands with her grandparents, close to Tongliao in eastern Inner Mongolia. She learned music from a young age from her paternal grandparents. She won a prize as the most talented female morin huur player and was invited to join the Inner Mongolia Music and Dance Troupe where she became the first professional female musician. Today she runs a very successful Mongolian bar in Hohhot with her mother, father and uncle. She has a younger brother who is also a musician. Her father once managed the art school and is a painter. Her mother trained as a dancer and actress. She has recently married a dancer from the Inner Mongolia Music and Dance Troupe.
Hadanbaatar Hadanbaatar is the drummer of the band. He grew up near Ordos City in the grasslands, near the mausoleum of Genghis Khan. His parents were members of the large Ordos ethnic group and were nomadic herders. He joined the Inner Mongolia Music and Dance Troupe where he met the rest of AnDa Union. He lives in Hohhot with his wife, who is a singer. He has recently started a small business with a friend making traditional handmade Mongolian drums. Tsetsegmaa Tsetsegmaa is a long-song singer and tours with AnDa Union. A Buriat, she grew up near Hulun Buir in the northwest of Inner Mongolia near the border of Russia and Outer Mongolia. Hulun Buir is one of the most remote areas of the region and home to both the Ewenke and Buriat people. She works within the Inner Mongolia Music and Dance Troupe as a solo long-song singer. She has won many prizes and awards for her astounding voice. She has written a number of very beautiful Buriat songs which she performs with AnDa Union. She is based in Hohhot and has one sister. Biligbaatar Biligbaatar is a long-song singer and tours regularly with AnDa Union. He grew up in Hexigten. His mother, younger brother, brother’s wife and daughter, all live in the grasslands and herd the family livestock. Billigbatar is an expert horseman. A longsong gold medallist, his talent was honed in the beauty of the grasslands. Heis based in Hohhot with his wife, who is also a singer.
Monkhjayaa Monkhjayaa grew up in Ongniud Qi in the same region as Chinggel with his parents and sister, following the traditional herding lifestyle. Monkhjayaa is a very accomplished horse rider. He studied music in Chifeng where he met Nars, Uni and Urgen and Chinggel. He joined the Inner Mongolia Music and Dance Troupe and helped found AnDa Union. He lives in Hohhot with his wife and baby daughter in the same apartment complex as Urgen. He and his wife own a beauty salon in Hohhot.
AnDa Union
A saluteVIPto Sponsors our We proudly recognize our Very Important Partners. Not only do our VIP Sponsors offer essential financial contributions, they also provide valuable and enthusiastic promotion of Lied Center performances to their customers, employees and the community. Their commitment to the performing arts allows us to provide education activities, free school performances and high-quality events each year. We honor our VIP Sponsors throughout the season on our electronic sign and with onstage recognition at their selected performances. We hope you will also thank them when you visit their businesses. For more information regarding our sponsorship program, contact the Lied Center Director of Development, Megan Poindexter, at 785-864-2788.
Elvis Lives
Open House and Community Arts Festival An Evening with David Sedaris
Mamma Mia! The National Acrobats of China Suzanne Farrell Ballet
FARFALLE (Butterflies)
The Intergalactic Nemesis & Chiara String Quartet The Celtic Tenors
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Herbie Hancock
AnDa Union & The Chamber Ensemble of the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra & Jing Xing Dance Theatre
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Mnozil Brass
An Evening with David Sedaris
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LIVE
PERFORMING ARTS UPcoming Performances THE Suzanne Farrell Ballet
Celebrating George Balanchine’s dance legacy SATURDAY, NOV 12 — 7:30pm Free Additional Activities • Pre-Performance Discussion with Suzanne Farrell on Balanchine’s legacy — 6:30pm • Post-Performance Meet and Greet with artists
ETHEL
String quartet on another level SATURDAY, NOV 19 — 7:30pm Free Additional Activities • Pre-Performance Discussion on the exploration of the classical art of New Music — 6:30pm • Post-Performance Coffee and Conversation
The Celtic Tenors
Songs of the season SATURDAY, DEC 10 — 7:30pm Free Additional Activity • Post-Performance Meet and Greet with artists
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s
SOUTH PACIFIC
An epic musical romance WEDNESDAY, Jan 18 — 7:30pm
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PERFORMING ARTS UPcoming Performances
Chiara String Quartet
A musical conversation between friends SUNDAY, JAN 29 — 2:00pm
ELVIS LIVES
The Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Event THURSDAY, FEB 2 — 7:30pm
Chamber Ensemble of the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra
Traditional music from Shanghai MONDAY, FEB 13 — 7:30pm Free Additional Activities • Pre-Performance Discussion with the Kansas City Traditional Chinese Orchestra — 6:30pm • Post-Performance Meet and Greet with the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra
MAMMA MIA!
The smash-hit musical based on the songs of ABBA TUESDAY, FEB 14 — 7:30pm
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2011-1 2 Friends of the Lied Update
This list includes individuals and businesses that have initiated or renewed their Friends of the Lied membership since the original list was published. Business Friends Fellow ($2,500+) Bigg’s Barbecue Patron ($500+) The Janssen Clinic of Natural Medicine
You can support the Lied, too! For more information or to join Friends of the Lied, contact the Lied Center Director of Development, Megan Poindexter, at 785-864-2788 or meganp@ku.edu or go to lied.ku.edu/donate.
The Lied Center is grateful for gifts of all sizes. We apologize for any errors or omissions.
2011-12 Friends of the Lied Update AnDa Union
INDIVIDUAL Friends Benefactor ($1,000+) Venkata & Neeli Bendapudi Don & Carol Hatton Patron ($500+) Karen & Dennis Christilles Tod & Sidney Sutton Jan & Dale Willey Sponsor ($250+) John W. & Ferry Evans David & Diana Ice Lucy Price Contributor ($100+) Michele Berendsen John & Eliza Bullock George & Gloria Byers Janice & Robert Cobb Richard & Betty Colbert Robert Friauf William Sharp & Sonya Lancaster Adam Pousson Dr. Allan & Margi Ross Sharon Graham & Anthea Scouffas Charles Silvestri Lori Norwood & Doug Stull Forrest & Donna Swall Olive J. Ubel Friends ($50+) Eva S. Alley Cara Nossaman Anderson Jack Winerock & Susan Elkins Karen Hall Mary & Steve Jones Bruce Levine Earl & Dee Anne Waters