WWU News Release


Tumen Ekh to Perform at WWU May 12
Performance Highlights WWU-Mongolian Cultural Ties

Contact(s):	Jill Clark, PAC Series media coordinator, (360) 650-2829 jill.clark@wwu.edu	4/5/2006

BELLINGHAM – Tumen Ekh, a 14-member Mongolian folk music and dance ensemble, will perform for Western Washington University’s Performing Arts Center (PAC) Series at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 12 in the PAC Concert Hall.

This performance replaces Inti Illimani, originally scheduled for May 12, which cancelled its North American tour earlier this month.

Reserved tickets for Tumen Ekh cost from $15 to $22 and are available through the WWU Box Office, (360) 650-6146, Village Books in Fairhaven, the Community Food Co-op in downtown Bellingham or online at www.tickets.wwu.edu.

The colorfully costumed singers, dancers and instrumentalists of Tumen Ekh will perform traditional folk arts that celebrate nomadic life and represent diverse Mongolian ethnic groups and regional styles. These include “khoomi” throat singing and “long song” singing, the ceremonious “Tsam” giant mask dance and accompaniment on traditional instruments, including the “morin khuur” (horse head fiddle.)

In addition to the ensemble’s public performance at Western, Tumen Ekh will also celebrate local links with Mongolia’s people and culture with several events in Bellingham:

A talk on Mongolia’s impact on world history, “Chinggis Khan,” by Edward Vajda, director of WWU’s Center for East Asian Studies and an expert in Russian language and comparative linguistics; 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 2, Bellingham Public Library. A presentation of the WWU College of Humanities and Social Sciences Dean’s Lecture Series. Free and open to the public.
A lecture demonstration by members of Tumen Ekh; 4 p.m. Thursday, May 11, Whatcom Community College Heiner Center Theater. Free and open to the public.
A slide show by The Sound Essence Project, a Bellingham-based nonprofit organization devoted to preserving and sharing Mongolian culture, about their cultural exchange and sustainable living programs with Mongolian artists, storytellers, youth and elders; 7 p.m. Thursday, May 11, Whatcom Museum Rotunda Room. Free and open to the public.
The Official Opening of the American Center for Mongolian Studies (ACMS) at WWU’s Wilson Library. Western is home to the U.S. office of the ACMS, a non-profit educational organization founded in 2002 to foster research in Mongolia and the development of academic exchanges with Inner Asia. Western has a long history of support for Mongolian Studies and houses the largest collection of books and resources on Mongolia in North America. The collection, which includes more than 8,000 titles, was initiated by professor emeritus Henry G. Schwarz, founder of WWU’s Center for East Asian Studies and current president of the Mongolia Society.
An art exhibition featuring works by Shagdarjav Chimeddorj, renowned Mongolian landscape painter of horses, with selections from the Sound Essence Project’s 2005 youth art project entitled, “What does peace look like?” at 2-10 p.m. Friday, May 12, PAC lobbies. Free and open to the public.

Tumen Ekh was formed in 1989 when a group of traditional Mongolian performing artists joined together and took the name, which means “champion horse” in the Mongolian language, from a famous folk song of the same name. Since then, Tumen Ekh has toured as Mongolia’s cultural ambassador in more than 30 countries, including appearances at the World Music Center in New York and the Millennium Stage of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Their current U.S. tour commemorates the 800th anniversary of the founding of the Mongolian Empire under Genghis Khan, and includes appearances at the International Children’s Festival in Seattle and Tacoma from May 15-19.

Tumen Ekh’s 2006 North American tour is made possible, in part, by grants from the Trust for Mutual Understanding (of New York) and the Arts Council of Mongolia-U.S. (www.acm-us.org). Tumen Ekh’s public performance at Western is made possible, in part, by grants from the Washington State Arts Commission and the Community Food Co-op. Their educational outreach program is sponsored by Comcast and Friends of the PAC Series.

Parking for the PAC Series concert will be available in the south campus C lots and a free shuttle will run between lot 12A near Fairhaven College and the Performing Arts Center for PAC Series events. Patrons who purchase event tickets in advance may also purchase a permit for $2 to park in lot 14G during the event.

For more information about Tumen Ekh, visit http://pacseries.wwu.edu. For disability accommodations, please contact the WWU Box Office, (360) 650-6146. The Box Office is open from noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and beginning one hour before the performance.

For a parking permit or information, please stop at the south campus Visitor Center, open from 7:15 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays. There is a $2 hourly charge for parking from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. No permit is required in (south campus) gravel C lots between 5 p.m. and 7 a.m. weekdays, or on weekends. There is a $1 an hour charge for parking after 5 p.m. and on weekends in designated lots, which have blue machines that accept cash, coins, or credit/debit cards. There is no additional charge in these lots for those displaying a valid parking pass or a Viking XPress bus pass after 7 p.m., with the exception of lot 6V (Viking Union) where payment is required at all times. Parking meters at various campus locations cost $2 an hour, 24 hours/7 days. Faculty are reminded that reserved parking spaces are available for their use after hours and weekends with a valid parking permit or bus pass, as posted in lots 10G, 17G and Parks Hall

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