Ganbaataryn Khongorzul

Ganbaataryn Khongorzul

Khongorzul Ganbaatar began her professional musical studies at the age of twenty-two. She was raised in the Mongolian province of Khentii where singing urtiin duu [OOR tin DOO] (a Mongolian vocal genre, literally Long song is ubiquitous as entertainment. The Long song (Template:Lang-mn, Urtyn duu) is a central element of the traditional Music of Mongolia. This genre is not called "Long song" because the songs are long (even if some of them are), but because each syllable of text is extended for a long duration. A four-minute song may only consist of ten words. UNESCO declared the Mongolian Long Song one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005.

Khongorzul never sang publicly during her adolescence. On an impulse, she auditioned for the Than Khentii Folk Ensemble and was accepted as a member of the group. In 1998 she moved to Ulaanbaatar to study at the University of Culture and Art under Professor Delghr. In the same year she entered her first musical competition, the Ulaanbaatar Competition of Professional Longsong Singers, and was awarded first prize. Since that time she has performed as a soloist with organizations including the Mongolia Theater of National Dance and Folksong and the Traditional Music and Dance Theater and has been a soloist at concerts in the United States, Japan and China.Silk, Road, [http:http://www.silkroadproject.org/music/artists/khongorzul.html Silk Road Artists], retrieved 2007-12-28 {{citation}}: Check |url= value (help)

Khongorzul Ganbaatar performs with the famous Silk Road Ensemble (led by the World famous cellist Yo Yo Ma)and appears on the album Silk Road Journeys: When Strangers Meet and was featured in the photo exhibit entitled The Silk Road Ensemble: Portraits and Places.

Khongorzul has sang for the opening of the Nobel Prizes, the opening of the 2004 World Cup and has given high profile performances at Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Bolshoi and many other notable venues.

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