Kongar-ool Borisovich Ondar ( tyv, Ондар Коңгар-оол Борис оглу, ''Ondar Konggar-ool Boris oglu'', , russian: Конгар-оол Борисович Ондар; 29 March 1962 – 25 July 2013) was a master Soviet and Russian Tuvan throat singer and a member of the

Great Khural of Tuva The Great Khural (Parliament) of the Republic of Tuva, ; russian: Верховный Хурал (парламент) Республики Тыва is the regional parliament of Tuva, a federal subject of Russia. A total of 32 deputies are elect ...

. Ondar was born near the Khemchik River in western

Tuva Tuva (; russian: Тува́) or Tyva ( tyv, Тыва), officially the Republic of Tuva (russian: Респу́блика Тыва́, r=Respublika Tyva, p=rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə tɨˈva; tyv, Тыва Республика, translit=Tyva Respublika ...

, in the village of Iyme. In the

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

n tradition of self-fulfilling child naming, ''Kongar-ool'' literally translates to "loud boy." In 1983 Ondar was drafted into the army, but was discharged due to a neck injury. After, he served several years in prison in Siberia. In 1992, after his release, Ondar won an international throat-singing contest, which brought invitations to perform in Europe and the United States and began his singing career. Considered a living treasure by the Republic of Tuva, Ondar was granted a stipend and an apartment for the musical skills he possessed. Jovial and personable, Ondar is probably the best-known face of '' khöömei'' ( tyv, хөөмей) throat singing to Westerners, appearing on the '' Late Show with David Letterman'', the Oscar-nominated documentary ''

Genghis Blues ''Genghis Blues'' is a 1999 American documentary film directed by Roko Belic. It centers on the journey of blind American singer Paul Pena to the isolated Russian Republic of Tuva to pursue his interest in Tuvan throat singing. It won the 1999 ...

'', and in interviews for

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

and other networks. Ondar was also a teacher and opened a Center for the Development of Tuvan Traditional Arts in

Kyzyl Kyzyl (; Tuvan and russian: Кызыл; , ) is the capital city of the republic of Tuva, Russia. The name of the city means "red" or "crimson" in Tuvan (and in many other Turkic languages). Its population was History The city was founded in 1 ...

. Ondar is also known outside Tuva for inviting American blues musician

Paul Pena Paul Jerrod Pena (January 26, 1950 – October 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist of Cape Verdean descent. His music from the first half of his career touched on Delta blues, jazz, morna, flamenco, folk and rock and r ...

to Tuva. Pena, who had learned throat singing before coming to Tuva, was the subject of the documentary ''

'' in which Ondar was also featured. In 1993, he performed at Frank Zappa's eclectic "garden party/soiree" gathering in his last days. He also appears on the Béla Fleck and the Flecktones albums '' Outbound'', album/DVD ''

Live at the Quick ''Live at the Quick'' is the ninth album released by Béla Fleck and the Flecktones and their second live album. It was recorded live at the Quick Center For The Arts in Fairfield, Connecticut in 2000. Reception In his Allmusic review, music c ...

'', and ''

Jingle All the Way ''Jingle All the Way'' is a 1996 American Christmas family comedy film directed by Brian Levant. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad as two rival fathers, mattress salesman Howard Langston (Schwarzenegger) and postal worker Myron Larab ...

''. He released one album on

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

, '' Back Tuva Future''. His first studio album, 1996's '' Echoes of Tuva'', was released by the TuvaMuch Music label. He released another album sampling physicist

Richard Feynman Richard Phillips Feynman (; May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988) was an American theoretical physicist, known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, the physics of the superfl ...

titled ''Tuva Talk''. He died after emergency surgery for a brain hemorrhage in Kyzyl on July 25, 2013. He was 51 years old.

References

External links

Kongar-ol Ondar's homepage
* *
Tyvam (My Tuva)
by Kongar-ol Ondar, Evgeny Saryglar and Alash Ensemble with subtitles
Live performance
on

The Chevy Chase Show ''The Chevy Chase Show'' was an American late night talk show hosted by actor and comedian Chevy Chase that aired in 1993 on Fox. The series was canceled after five weeks on the air. History Creation and pre-production Fox originally asked coun ...

in 1993 with Bady-Dorzhu Ondar
Live performance
on Late Show with David Letterman in 1999
Live performance
at Kraft House 1962 births 2013 deaths People from Dzun-Khemchiksky District 21st-century Russian male singers 21st-century Russian singers Tuvan musicians Russian folk singers Russian politicians Throat singing Warner Records artists Tuvan throat singing People from Kyzyl 20th-century Russian male singers 20th-century Russian singers {{tuva-stub