Presented by Small World Music
In partnership with Traquen'Art and Routes Nomades

Dive into the heart of the vast Mongolian steppes with Nasanjargal Ganbold and Johanni Curtet.

In Mongolia, traditional music is deeply rooted in the natural environment and nomadic lifestyle. At the core of this sound ecology, whether with their instruments, such as the morin khuur horse fiddle or the tovshuur lute, or with their voices, through praises or throat-singing.

Originally from Altai, the cradle of khöömii in Western Mongolia, Nasanjargal Ganbold (aka Nasaa), is a master of this unique vocal art. Accompanied by Johanni Curtet, a French ethnomusicologist and specialist in overtone singing, they tell a story about this nomadic culture through a journey far beyond the mountains, into the wide open spaces.

Their collaboration gives life to a concert that blends natural sounds, contemporary poems and improvisations, offering a deep immersion into the soul of Mongolian culture.

About the Artists:
Nasanjargal Ganbold (aka Nasaa) - Nasaa was born in the Khovd province, Western Mongolia. He studied at the Ulaanbaatar Conservatory from 1994 to 2002 and graduated as a musician and music teacher. Nasaa excels in different khöömii techniques and throat singing. A talented multi-instrumentalist, he contributes to renewing the arrangement of traditional music with the morin khuur fiddle, bishguur oboe and tovshuur lute. In 2005 he founded Hosoo-Transmongolia with his fellow musicians, and in 2009 the band Sedaa - an ensemble composed of Mongolian and Iranian artists.

Johanni Curtet is a composer, musician, ethnomusicologist, throat-singing teacher and producer. First trained by Trân Quang Hai, his traditional apprenticeship comes from D. Tserendavaa in the steppes of the Altai, and B. Odsüren at the University of Arts and Culture in Ulaanbaatar. He teaches khöömii for the Philharmonie de Paris, and has opened a first curriculum in the West in 2020 with the International Institute of World Music in Aubagne. Artistic Director and founder of the Routes Nomades association since 2006, he produces Mongolian throat-singing tours and records internationally.



Doors open 7:30 PM

The 2025 Small World Music Series is sponsored by TD Bank Group through the TD Ready Commitment and funded by the Government of Canada, Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, and the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council.