Lifelong brotherhood

Anda Union welcome reception is Monday

Posted

BROOKINGS – Anda Union, a music ensemble from Inner Mongolia, China, will arrive in Brookings on Sunday and kick off its residency week with a public welcome reception from 5-6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27, at the Children’s Museum of South Dakota atrium.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to meet the 11 members of Anda Union and to publicly welcome them to our community,” Brookings Arts Council Executive Director Heather Kuhlman said. “The evening will include cultural exchange, a bit of music and some light hors d’ourvres. On behalf of the board of directors, we would like to formally invite Brookings to join us for this reception.”

Anda Union will spend a week in the community sharing the music of Inner Mongolia through workshops in schools and community locations and a public concert near the end of the week.

Kuhlman said this will be an exciting week for Brookings and the surrounding communities and will mark the final residency through the Brookings Arts Council’s two-year Arts Midwest World Fest contract.

“This week will be nothing short of amazing,” Kuhlman said. “But it will be bittersweet at the same time. For the past two years, we have had the great opportunity and honor to be a part of the Arts Midwest World Fest family, and sadly our contract is coming to an end. We’ve had great support and enthusiasm from the community and our business partners during this time for each of the incredible ensembles that have had residencies with us. I’m sad to see it end.

“Brookings has been host to Baladino (Israel), Le Vent du Nord (Quebec, Canada), Lorraine Klaasen (South Africa) and now Anda Union (Inner Mongolia, China). We encourage everyone to not miss this last ensemble and try to be a part of this incredible week.”

Anda Union’s music comes from the vast grasslands of Inner Mongolia, where various ethnic nomadic tribes have lived for centuries. Anda’s music includes a combination of instruments like horsehead fiddles and vocal styles like throat singing in a performance that Genghis Khan himself would have been proud of.

Anda Union formed in 2000 and is committed to preserving their way of life and the music which is so important to it. The group members describe themselves as music gatherers, digging deep into Mongol traditions to keep familiar songs alive while also unearthing forgotten music. They are on a mission to stimulate their culture and re-engage young Mongols, many of whom no longer speak their native language.

“Most of the band members have been playing together since childhood. As adults, we studied professional vocals and instruments together. We are like a family. Ten years ago, Anda Union was forged, and we haven’t looked back,” said Nars, a member of the group.

Anda means a “blood brother or sister.” For Mongolians, an anda is more important than a birth brother as one chooses a person to become an anda – a lifelong blood brother. Anda Union is a brotherhood of andas. Anda Union offers audiences a rare opportunity to experience and enjoy music the world has only recently begun to know. The ensemble has toured widely with stops at major universities and cites across the United States.

Arts Midwest World Fest, a program of Minneapolis-based Arts Midwest, gives small and mid-size communities an opportunity to experience people, culture and music they may be unlikely to enjoy otherwise. Since 2003, the program has partnered with over 60 Midwestern communities and featured ensembles from all over the world.

Anda Union’s residency week in Brookings will be Feb. 26 through March 4, with the ticketed community concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 3, at Brookings High School’s Bell Auditorium. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Advance tickets can be purchased online at www.brookingsartscouncil.org for $7 for students and seniors and $12 for adults. All tickets will be $15 at the door.

For more information, contact Kuhlman at directorbac@swiftel.net or 605-881-7356.