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Mongolian harp

Miiga (Choijav Myagmarsuren)

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Born in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
He started playing the Mongolian zither (Yataga) at the age of 9, and studied under famous Mongolian zither players Magnaisuren and Tsolmon.

In 1992, he entered the Mongolian National College of Music and Dance, Department of Ethnomusicology, majoring in the koto.

In 1996, he joined the Mongolian National Morin Khuur Symphony Orchestra.
In addition to performing concerts around the world, he is also involved in the production of film and drama music.
He came to Japan in 2000 and studied at Matsudo International Academy Japanese Language School.

In 2002, he entered Tokyo Commercial Science College.
In 2004, he began his musical career in Japan, taking part in a nationwide tour with horsehead fiddle player Bat-Erdene.
In 2005, he participated in the composer Endo Minoru Memorial Concert.
In 2010, he performed with shamisen player Hiromitsu Agatsuma on NHK's New Year's radio program.
In 2011, he performed in a concert by Mongolian National Artist and State Prize-winning composer Jantsan Norob (Mongolian Melodies).
In June 2012, he released the CD "Kizuna" in collaboration with erhu player Munkhtsetseg.
Since 2014, he has been active as a koto player with the Assal International Morin Khuur Ensemble.
In May 2015, he was awarded the Order of Cultural Merit by the Government of Mongolia.

Since 2015, he has been active as a koto player for the Mongolian folk instrument group "Iftataraga."
In June, he participated in a concert to support the earthquake recovery efforts in Sendai and the Tohoku region.
In 2016, the CD "Iftataraga" was released. A commemorative concert was held at Suntory Hall. Afterwards, a national tour began.

In June, a concert was held with Chinese zither player Jiang Xiaoqing and Taiwanese zither player Xu Huiqi.
In September 2017, he participated in the Sorongo Live (Roppongi Craps), and in November,

Appeared in the concert commemorating the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Mongolia at the Sakudaira Communication Center in Nagano Prefecture.
Participated in Sorongo Live (February 2018 / Ogikubo Rooster, October 2018 / Daikanyama Haretara Sora ni Mamemai).

May 2019: Duo concert with Jiang Xiaoqing (Enmeiji Temple, Yaguchi, Ota Ward).

 

About the Mongolian harp - Yataga

The Mongolian harp has been used for 2000 years, and historically there are said to be 32 different types of harps, but currently 5-, 13-, 18-, and 21-string harps are used. The 21-string harp is used exclusively on stage. The Mongolian harp is characterized by the fact that it is played without plectrums, and the strings are plucked directly with the fingers to produce sound. The tuning is based on a bright pentatonic scale that does not include semitones, and the 21-string harp has a four-octave range from D to D. It is played on Western-style musical staff .

2025/1 HH Copylight
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