TUVA OR BUST

If you are serious about höömei, I advise you to make at least one journey to Tuva or Mongolia. I myself travelled to Tuva last summer in June and I am already planning to make a new trip. I must now express my gratitude to Ralph Leighton , who wrote recommendations and arranged contacts for me. So I had contacts with Tuvinians all the way from Moscow to Abakan to Kyzyl. Tuva is rather far away from Finland where I live, so that although the prices there are moderate even in terms of a university student, one will have to be prepared to pay for some expenses. Mrs. Zoya Kyrgys , the directrice of the Khoomei Center, invited us and also arranged höömei instruction for us. We were precepted by Sergei Ondar , a höömeichi with already a 15-year career as a professional singer and teacher. He charged 10 dollars per lesson one lesson lasting three hours. As a matter of fact, this price is the official price of the Khoomei Center and it has been defined because of foreigners that occasionally come to Tuva to learn this art.