[140] Join Tuvan throat singers Alash Ensemble Monday at MTSU for special performances

MURFREESBORO — The Alash Ensemble, a group of musicians known for their Tuvan throat singing, will be on the MTSU campus Monday, Sept. 30, to appear in two classes and perform in the James E. Walker Library.

The performances are free and open to the public, but seating is limited in each venue. You can find a campus map with parking notes at http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParkingMap13-14.

The Alash Ensemble, who are from the Tuva Republic in Central Asia, north of Mongolia, will visit the MTSU School of Music's "World of Music" class (MUHL 1610) from 9:10 to 10:05 a.m. Monday in the Instrumental Rehearsal Hall, Room 173 of the Wright Music Building on campus.

At 10:20 a.m., the group will visit the MUS 1030 class, "Introduction to Music," in Hinton Hall inside the Wright Music Building for 55 minutes.

The musicians will then perform at 1 p.m. in the Walker Library Atrium.

The members of the Alash Ensemble are masters of Tuvan throat singing, a technique for singing multiple pitches at the same time, and have toured the United States several times. They’ve also toured and collaborated with a diverse array of artists, including Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.

To accompany their singing, the ensemble will be playing traditional Tuvan instruments, including the igil, a bowed, two-stringed instrument similar to the Mongolian morin khuur; the doshpuluur or chanzy, which is a plucked or strummed three-stringed lute; a large frame drum; and perhaps a small plucked zither.

For more information about the Alash Ensemble, visit the group’s website at http://www.alashensemble.com. For more information on their MTSU visit, email Dr. Stephen Shearon in the School of Music at Stephen.Shearon@mtsu.edu.