Kongar-ool Borisovich Ondar (, ''Ondar Konggar-ool Boris oglu'', , ; 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 of the Tuva Republic is the regional parliament of Tuva, a federal subject of Russia. A total of 32 deputies are elected for five-year terms. Elections 2014 2019 2024 See also * List of chairpersons of the Great Khural o ...

. Ondar was born near the

Khemchik River The Khemchik (; , ''Xemçik'') is a river in Tuva in Russia, a left tributary of the Yenisey. The length of the river is 320 km, the area of its drainage basin is 27,000 km2. The Khemchik freezes up in November and remains icebound un ...

in western

Tuva Tuva (; ) or Tyva (; ), officially the Republic of Tyva,; , is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. Tuva lies at the geographical center of Asia, in southern Siberia. The republic borders the Federal subjects of Russia, federal sub ...

, in the village of Iyme. In the

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

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 this, in the 1980s, he was twice thrown into prison (the first time for fighting and the second for a stabbing), serving several years in Siberia. By 1990 he was touring Europe as a member of the Tuvan State Ensemble "Sayani." In 1992, he 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 Tuvan throat singing, also known as Mongolian throat singing, is a style of singing practiced by people in Tuva and Mongolia, the main technique of which is known as ''khoomei'' ( or ). It is noted for including overtone singing. In 2009, it wa ...

'' () throat singing to Westerners, appearing on the ''

Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...

'', 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. Accolades It ...

'', and in interviews for

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

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

Kyzyl Kyzyl ( ) is the capital city of the Republic of Tuva within the Russian Federation. Kyzyl's population is approximately History The city was founded in 1914 as Belotsarsk. It was renamed Hem-Beldir from 1918 to 1926. When the city was the ca ...

. Ondar is also known outside Tuva for inviting

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blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

musician

Paul Pena Paul Pena (; January 26, 1950 – October 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Pena's music from the first half of his career touched on Delta blues, jazz, morna, flamenco, folk, and rock and roll. Pena is probably best ...

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 Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

's eclectic "garden party/soiree" gathering in his last days. He also appears on the

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones Béla Fleck and the Flecktones is an American jazz fusion band that is known for its eclectic style and instrumentation, combining jazz Musical improvisation, improvisation with progressive bluegrass, Rock music, rock, Classical music, classical ...

albums '' Outbound'', album/DVD ''

Live at the Quick Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film * ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...

'', and '' Jingle All the Way''. He released one album on

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

, '' 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. He is best known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, the physics of t ...

titled ''Tuva Talk''. He died after emergency surgery for a brain hemorrhage in Kyzyl on 25 July 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'' is an American late night talk show hosted by actor and comedian Chevy Chase that aired in 1993 on Fox. The series was canceled after six weeks on the air. It was the last late night talk show that aired on Fox until 2006 ...

in 1993 with Bady-Dorzhu Ondar
Live performance
on

in 1999
Live performance
at Kraft House 1962 births 2013 deaths People from Dzun-Khemchiksky District 21st-century Russian male singers Tuvan musicians Russian folk singers Russian politicians Warner Records artists Tuvan throat singing People from Kyzyl 20th-century Russian male singers {{tuva-stub