Alash (ensemble)

Alash / Алаш
Left to right: Ayan Shirizhik, Bady-Dorzhu Ondar, Ayan-ool Sam
Background information
Origin	Kyzyl, Tuva
Genres	Throat singing, Folk music
Years active	1999-present
Members	Bady-Dorzhu Ondar Ayan-ool Sam Ayan Shirizhik
Past members	Sergei Sotpa Mai-ool Sedip Nachyn Choodu

The ensemble Alash is a throat singing band from Tuva, Russia, that performs traditional Tuvan music with some non-traditional influences.

History

The musicians of Alash are Bady-Dorzhu Ondar, Ayan-ool Sam, and Ayan Shirizhik. Originally called Changy-Xaya, the group was formed at Kyzyl Arts College in 1999 and became the resident traditional ensemble. The outgrowth of this musical exploration is the ensemble Alash, which is named for the Alash River that flows through the musicians' home region of Tuva. Since its inception, Alash has undergone several personnel changes. In 2004, Alash won first prize at the International Xöömei (throat singing) Symposium competition.

Alash toured the United States in 2006 at the invitation of the Open World Leadership Center at the Library of Congress with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. Their trip was organized by CEC ArtsLink, an organization that orchestrates cross-cultural arts exchanges and grants between the US and Central Europe, Russia, and Eurasia.

Alash has toured the United States every year since, playing at a variety of venues. They also conduct workshops at schools and colleges to share their music and culture with American young people. In December 2008, December 2009 and December 2010, Alash toured with the American group Béla Fleck and the Flecktones to promote the Flecktones' Grammy winning album Jingle All the Way, which features Alash as guest artists.

In August 2007, the group performed for President Vladimir Putin while he was on holiday in Tuva.

Recordings

• Alash Live at the Enchanted Garden March 2006
• Alash April 2007
• Jingle All the Way September 2008. Guest artists on the grammy-winning CD by the Flecktones
• Buura May 2011
• Achai Spring 2015
• Meni Mana Fall 2020 (digital only)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alash_Ensemble.

• Official website
• Washington Post concert review. June 21, 2007 - scroll down to Alash
• Open World Program Offers Rare Glimpse of Unique Musical Art February 1, 2006
• Hearts In Their Throats, Newsweek, March 17, 2006
• Bady-Dorzhu Ondar and Maya Akhpasheva are Best Singers at the Ustuu Khuree Festival^{[permanent dead link]}, Tuva Online, July 9, 2005
• Who Are This Year's Khoomei Champions in Tuva?^{[permanent dead link]} Tuva Online, July 29, 2004