18 January 2013 • Friday
California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, California
Kongar-Ol Ondar (Tuvan: Коңар-өл Ондар) is a master Tuvan throat singer and a member of the Great Khural of Tuva. 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 on the Late Show with David Letterman and in interviews for CNN and other networks. In the Central Asian tradition of self-fulfilling child naming, Kongar-ol literally translates to "Loud Boy". Ondar is also known for inviting American blues musician Paul Peña to Tuva. Peña was the subject of the documentary Genghis Blues in which Ondar was also featured. Ondar also appears on the Béla Fleck and the Flecktones albums Outbound, album/DVD Live at the Quick and "Jingle All the Way".