Octave Alliance (501c3) and Clarion Music in partnership with BayKeeper, SF Chapter and Earthlight Magazine present a
Transformance
featuring KARASHAY
(CHIRGILCHIN throat singing ensemble from Tuva with didgeridoo master STEPHEN KENT)
Saturday October 22, 2005 at 9:15 pm
in the Hawk Hill tunnel overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge.

On a candlelit stage we will transform a former place of war to ecological sound and word. This concert is a fundraiser for the Green Music Network - a national database supporting the connection of non-profit organizations with musicians for mutual benefit.

All acoustic concert. No amplification. The tunnel acts as the 5th performer, providing its powerful resonance. This transformance will be an unforgettable sonic journey integrating the deepest of ecological values. And it will be toasty warm inside the tunnel!

KARASHAY
Few musical folk styles have caught the western public imagination in the last decade so much as the amazing throat singing of Tuva. With its unique blend of Central Asian roots music and extraordinary vocal techniques it has opened the consciousness of contemporary world to 'Cowboy Music from the Wild East'. Now, in Karashay, for the first time Tuvan throat singers combine with the sound of one of the worlds other great ancient traditions, the Australian Aboriginal Didjeridu [in the hands of one of the worlds' contemporary masters, Stephen Kent] and produce a completely new, yet deeply familiar combination. Karashay means black tea in the Tuvan language. The point about black tea is that although wonderful and invigorating on it's own, you can add many other flavors to the mix to create tasty variations. Combining the earthy flavors of Siberia and Australia, Karashay produces a sublime musical blend that has primed the taste buds of audiences in Europe and North America and left them thirsty for more.

CHIRGILCHIN means mirage or miracle in the Tuvan language.  Founded in 1996, the group brings together the cream of the younger generation of Tuvan throat-singers and showcases five styles of throat singing: the khoomey (general), the kargyraa (deep tones), the sygyt (high tones), the borbannadyr (staccato-like whistle), the ezengiler (sound originating from clashing horse spurs) and the chilandyk (kargyraa and sygyt).  Tuvan throat-singing is based on a scale similar to American blues and uses sustained notes that branch into overtones with slight pitch fluctuations, creating a buoyant yet meditative quality.  The songs speak about the natural landscape, horses, and a nomadic way of life.  Sung in their native language, the group plays little known instruments, including the dospuluur (lute), the igil (two-stringed violin), and the dungar (rattle drum used by Tuvan shamans).  
 
MONGOUN-OOL ONDAR
won the 1992 International Grand Prix Throat Singing Competition at age 16.  Well-versed in the sygyt, kaygyraa, koomei, and borbannadyr throat singing styles, Ondar has evolved his own unique style of throat singing.

IGOR KOSHKENDEV
won the International Grand Prix Throat Singing Competition in 1998, 2000, and 2002.  Familiar with six throat singing styles, he is an expert in Oidupaa style, sung by only two people in the world.

ALDAR TAMDYN
Uniquely talented on the Byzaanchy and Morin Huur he won the prize for best instrumentalist at the International Folk Music Festival in Tuva -2000. Aldar is the director of the national Tuvan Orchestra of Traditional Instruments and he also master musical instruments maker . He build all the musical instruments for Chirgilchin as well as other Siberian groups.

STEPHEN KENT
A master didjeridu player bringing his unique sound and sense of rhythm to the interplay. Any didj player upon hearing a few measures of a didjeridu recording knows if it is Stephen or not. His approach is one of a kind. Listen to didjeridu radio at www.joyousnoise.com for awhile and you may hear the significant differerences in approach to the instrument. It's more like the instrument plays Stephen. click here for his site. www.stephenkent.net

Tickets are $20. Available at Jam Base Tickets. The tunnel seats approx 200 people. For more information please contact Alan Tower at Octave Alliance. Carpooling is strongly encouraged. Arrive early for enough time to park, walk and experience the beauty of the surroundings before concert begins. IMPORTANT! FESTIVAL SEATING ONLY. BRING: A pad to sit on, LOW beach chair OR a Zafu/Zazen bench. It will be warm in the tunnel but warm gear may still be desirable.

From 101 going north: Over the Golden Gate bridge, take the Alexander Ave exit, stay in left lane and you will come quickly to a stop sign. Left under the highway and now stay in the right lane and start up the long hill (Conzleman Rd.) to the top of the Headlands. Immediately on your left is parking lot that we are encouraging folks to stop at to enable carpools to go up to the tunnel. Continue on up the hill and an OA staff person will provide your car with a windshield placard for the concert to park up near the tunnel.

From 101 going south: Take the last exit before the bridge and up the headlands hill to concert. See above for more details.

Another event in the TRANSFORMANCE music series presented by Octave Alliance in the Hawk Hill tunnel.