Kongar-ool Ondar

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Kongar-ool Ondar

Kongar-ool Ondar (Коңар-өл Ондар) is a master Tuvan throat singer and a member of the Tuvan Parliament (Great Khural). Ondar was born in 1962 near the Khemchik River in western Tuva. Considered a living treasure by the Republic of Tuva, Ondar is granted a stipend and an apartment for the musical skills he possesses. Jovial and personable, Ondar is probably the best-known face of Хөөмей (khoomei) throat singing to Westerners, appearing often in interviews for CNN and other networks.

In the Central Asian tradition of self-fulfilling child naming, Kongar-ool literally translates to "Loud Boy".

Ondar is also known outside Tuva for inviting American blues musician Paul Pena to Tuva. Pena, who had learned throat singing before coming to Tuva, was the subject of the documentary Genghis Blues in which Ondar was also featured.

He also appears on the Béla Fleck and the Flecktones albums Outbound , album/DVD Live at the Quick and "Jingle All the Way"

External links

• Kongar-ool Ondar's homepage
• YouTube video of Kongal-ool Ondar performing on The Late Show with David Letterman

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