Biography
Urna Chahar-Tugchi, simply known as Urna, (born 1969 in Hohhot, Inner Mongol, China) is a Mongolian singer and musicist.
Urna was born into a family of herders in the grasslands of the Ordos Plateau in Inner Mongolia, a society where song was a ubiquitous part of everyday life. Her first musical training was learning to play the yangqin (the Chinese dulcimer) from a Shanghai Conservatory of Music professor who was visiting Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia. Then, at the age of 18, she moved to study at the Shanghai Conservatory, a challenging step since she had no knowledge of the Chinese language.
With this move, Urna's life and career took a dramatic turn. She decided to follow her voice, leaving the dulcimer and concentrating on the multitude of tone colours of her voice which has a range of four octaves. At the same time she tried to go further than the common methods of musical training.
Of her music she says: “I interpret my songs in all my energies with the variety of life experiences; therefore, I feel rebirth after each performance.”
While being rooted in the traditional music of her Mongolian homeland, Urna continues to take her music in new directions. Her latest compositions emphasize free, brushstroke-like improvisations, which have been inspired by her recent experiences with other cultures and musicians and her life outside of Mongolia. With this constant yearning to take her music beyond convention, Urna has performed with many internationally-renown musicians, including the Hungarian violinist Zoltan Lantos, accordeon player Jerzy Bawol from the Polish band Kroke, Ramesh Shotham from India, Inner Mongolian Morin Huur player Burintegus (Zhang Quansheng), Chinese Sheng Solist Wu Wei, Muhammad Reza Mortazavi and Saam Schlamminger from Central Asia and many other folk and jazz musicians.
In 2003, she was awarded the RUTH prize in Germany for Best International Artist.
Urna's 2004 recording, Amilal (Life), is a collaborative effort that features accompaniment from the highly acclaimed Zarb percussion masters from Iran, Djamchid Chemirani and Keyvan Chemirani.
In 2008 Urna worked with the Mongolian ensemble Morin Huur for the film “Chinggisiin Hoyor Jagal” (The Two Horses of Genghis Khan) directed by Byambasuren Davva.
Discography:
1997 - Crossing,
1995 - Tal Nutag
1999 - Hodood
2004 - Amilal
2001 - Jamar
Official site: http://www.urna.com
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