7th International Jew’s Harp Congress, Yakutsk 2011International Jew’s Harp Society Bulletin 2 – Compiled by Michael WrightFirst, an apology. In Bulletin 1 we said that the virtuoso competition was for men over 25. We have since had information that indicates that this was a mis-translation. The Virtuoso Competition is, in fact, open to male and female players. The competition for women under 25 has been set up to encourage and support female players and the organizers have specifically asked us to advertise this competition amongst possible European and American female participants – for foreign players the age-limit does not apply! The organizers also would like to see as many Jew’s harp makers as possible.Other issues from the members and the Programme Committee have been raised in a letter sent by the Committee to the Vice President of the Republic Sakha, who is the head of the Yakutian Organisation Committee. These include:CompetitionsThe competitions are foreseen as for solo players. We have pointed out that in many cultures – like Austria, Hungary, Italy, UK and the USA – it is the case that Jews harps are played in groups, sometimes with several players and sometimes with other musical instruments or singers. We have therefore asked if there are likely to be:• Competitions open to larger groups of Jews harp players or ensembles that include Jews harp playing with other instruments or voices?• The possibility for such groups to present their art to the Yakutian audience with the aim of transmitting a true picture of the international character of all Jew’s harp cultures.In both cases we have pointed out that the accompanying musicians/singers also require accommodation and food provided.Presentation of Academic PapersWe have indicated that a number of our members are keen to present academic papers at the Congress and we have asked if this could be incorporated into the official program.Informal Music EventsWe also pointed out that many of our members would like to perform outside of the formal concerts. We see these spontaneous musical meetings between Jew’s harp players from diverse and distant regions as an important part of IJHFs and they are seen by many as true highlights. We have asked if there will be any events and possibilities set up for these informal performances.Competition FeeThe Programme Committee recognises that the long distance travel costs will be quite high for many participants coming from Europe and the Americas and pointed out that participants in previous IJHFs never had to pay for presenting their art. On the contrary, some professional players would get an honorary for their performance. Under the circumstances players are willing to refrain in the case of the 7th IJHF, but we have asked if the Organisation Committee of the 7th IJHF would allow free entry to the competitions for delegates who will be travelling long distances.Replacements in the list of 31There are instances where people in the original list of 31 will not be able to attend and the International Jews Harp Society would like to specify replacement names. These would, for example, be future board members of the International Jews Harp Society. We have, therefore, asked if it could be confirmed that this will be possible.Jews Harp MakersIn some cases we know that some Jews Harp makers are not able to attend and would like to send a representative, so we have requested that this be allowed.FlightsFinally, we asked the co-member of the Organisation Committee – Mr I.A.Prostit, General Director of “Aviakompaniya Yakutia”, head of theNational Airline, to look at the possibility of organising a special group discount-flight for the participants from Europe and the Americas, on 21st June, Moscow-Yakutsk, and on 26th June, Yakutsk-Moscow.PLEASE NOTE. None of the above has been approved or agreed as yet by the Yakutian Organization Committee. You should also be awarethat this Committee is primarily made up of Government and Regional politicians or businessmen. There is only one member of the Committee from the Regional Khomus Society – Ivan Alexeev, plus the president of the IJHS – Franz Kumpl. We are, therefore, in the minority and totally reliant on the good wishes of this Committee. Hopefully in Bulletin 3 we will have positive responses on most if not all of the points raised.Formalities for participantsIn response to the request from the Organisation Committee to define approximately 100 European and 20 American participants of the 7th IJHF, we have collated the first list of these participants.Those included on the list, and given that they will be approved by the Yakutian Organisation Committee, should anticipate a directcommunication with all the necessary documents for obtaining a Russian visa.VisasOnce participants have received their invitations, this should trigger their requirement to obtain a visa for Russia. Please note that the invitation and therefore the visa will be for the period of the event only. Anyone wishing to stay for a longer period in Russia should get the visa through a local Travel Agent or try to convince the inviting Yakutian Organisation Committee. The YOC might support you when you stay in Yakutia and book some touristic travels there. But they may be hesitant if you want to travel to other Russian cities, particularly as registration issues and responsibilities by the inviting organisation becomes stricter.The visa procedure will be as follows:a) If approved by the YOC, you will receive a personal invitation by the Government of the Republic Sakha (Yakutia), sent to your email-address.b) You will have to provide the person who has transmitted the Invitation with all your contact details as requested (e.g. copy of passport with name, passport number, date and place of issue, expiry date, etc. ATTENTION: the passport has to be valid for minimum 6 months after your stay in Yakutia!), so that they can produce the official invitation which will be sent to your local Russian Consulate (ATTENTION: in casein your country there are several Russian Consulates, define to which it should be sent!). The inviting organisation will inform you whenthis invitation will be available at the Consulate. Only afterwards does it make sense to go to the Consulate and apply for the visa.c) For this application you need to fill in the official Visa Application form (available at the website of the Russian Consulate), a medicalinsurance for the given period and a passport photo.PLEASE NOTE: the obtaining of the correct visa is the responsibility of the individual participant.AccommodationAs indicated in Bulletin 1, our hosts will either supply the accommodation for participants or provide information on what is available. We willnot know who is in what category until we have a response to the letter, though whether performers will be required to pay may depend on if they are participating in the competitions or not.We advise that anyone travelling as audience (i.e. non-performer) should discuss options with a local travel agent.Dietary issuesWe suggest that any invitees should indicate any dietary issues they might have in their response to the invitation.TicketsInformation on event tickets to follow.Gifts to take with you to Yakutia:You should consider taking gifts for the people you meet with you, e.g. something linked to your national Jew’s harp culture (harps, publications, CDs, photos, etc) and/or to your local/national culture (folklore items, special alcoholics and preserved food, etc)Contacts – National and Regional contacts:Americas – Deirdre Morgan deirdreannemorgan[at]gmail.comAustria – Franz Kumpl franz.kumpl[at]aon.atGermany – Gerd Conradt mandala.vision[at]gmx.deFrance – Tran Quang Hai tranquanghai[at]gmail.comHungary/Slovakia – Aron Szilagyi aural[at]t-online.huItaly – Luca Recupero luca_recupero[at]yahoo.itScandinavia– Svein Westad s-westad[at]online.noSwitzerland – Philippe Dallais dallais[at]vmz.uzh.chNetherlands – Daniel Hentschel mail[at]danibal.nlUK – Michael Wright jewsharper[at]btinternet.comRecommended do’s and don’ts in Russia and YakutiaAdvice from FranzMosquitoes:• Although Yakutia has the coldest spot on earth (Oymyakon, with •67.7 °C (•90 °F), it becomes hot in summer as the permafrost thaws and melts. Be prepared for a June to be around 30 °C Celsius.• Usually June is still fine in regard of the mosquitoes, but don’t take the risk – the Yakutian mosquitoes are real killers!• Take excellent repellents with you and wide cloth, or obtain the Yakutian weapon, which is a horse tail on a stick.Food:• Traditional Yakutian food is very special and extremely healthy.• Try to get their speciality which is “Stroganina”, a kind of Yakutian Sashimi from white river fish, which is caught in winter, freezes immediately in this extreme cold and is stored in the permafrost-cellars (or in the freezer compartment in the city).• The tundra- and taiga-berries are excellent, especially when eaten with sour cream from the overly fat Yakutian milk.• Yakutians love roasted meat – “shashlik”, usually beef.• A main dish is small thick pancakes which taste as everywhere in the world.• They have special blood-sausages in Yakutia, which taste OK but just have the unusual colour white.• You might not have the chance to try it, but if so you are lucky! It is the Yakutian delicacy, which is sliced frozen raw liver from local foal (half year old horse which ate only grass and herbs in untouched taiga).Drinks• You get all kinds of beer and beverages. The local drinks are Wodka (Yakutians are proud of their local Wodka because it is distilled withexcellent local water) and Kumys, which is fermented Mare’s milk (the mothers of the foals, whose raw liver you might be just trying). Ittastes like cider, but be careful of heartburn (pyrosis)! I never knew what pyrosis was, but in Yakutsk I learned this lesson. Therefore takemedicaments with you against pyrosis.Dear reader, feel free to raise issues of interest for you regarding do’s and don’ts. Since I spent a big part of the past 25 years in Russia, I am happy to share my knowledge, Franz.We trust you appreciate that the IJHS Programme Committee is doing everything it can within the limited possibilities available to us.PROGRAMFor implementation of main eventsVII International Congress-Festival“Khomus (trump) in the cultural dimensions of the world”(further VII. IJHF)23-26 June 2011Yakutsk22.06. WednesdayDay of arrival and accommodation15:00 Opening of exhibition “Jew’s Harps of the Peoples of the World”16:00 Departure for Namskiy, Khangalasskiy Ulus23.06. Thursday1st day of VII. IJHF09:00-09:45 Festive opening of VII. IJHF with participation of President and Government members of Republic of Sakha-Yakutia10:00-12:45 Plenum session of Congress14:00-17:45 Congress: working groups. Master classes of Jew’s Harp-players and pedagogues16:00-17:45 Competition of International Jew’s Harp SmithsAuction of jew’s harps from renown masters19:00 Grande Concert “Resounds Khomus of Oeloenkho”.Competition of International Jew’s Harp Virtuosos24.06. Friday 2nd day of VII. IJHF09:00-12:45 Continuation of Congress-workshops14:00-17:45 Final meeting of the Congress with resume19:00 Festive closure of VII. IJHFHonoring the winners in competitionsGala-concert “Khomus gathers friends”25.06. Saturday3rd finalizing day of VII. IJHF, in Yakutsk09:00-17:45 Participation in the national solstice festival “Ysyekh”12:00-13:15 Opening Ceremony with participation of delegates from VII. IJHF14:00-16:00 Competition “Khomus Kuo” (young female players)Departure of participants for Vilyuisk26.06. Sunday4th day, Vilyuiskiy Ulus09:00-11:15 Opening of Ulus “House of Masters”. Opening of studio Kylaan Uus. Opening of the exhibition “Fates, linked by Komus”11:30 Ysyekh-festival of the Khomus (trump) of the peoples of the world15:00 Gala-concert of the Jew’s Harp Players of the world.18:00 departure for YakutskDeparture of the participants
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Below is the first information package for the 7th International Jew's Harp Festival in Yakutsk, Siberia.If you are a resident of the Americas (North, Central, or South) interested in attending the festival as a performer or a special guest, please reply to me no later than Thursday February 3 (see the competition categories and regional contacts below).Visas are required to enter Russia and all performers must receive official letters of invitation from the festival organizers.There will be food and accommodation provided for performers who are selected to participate in the official competition.All non-performing audience members are welcome to attend the festival at their own expense.Please contact me if you have any questions about this exciting event. It's sure to be a one of a kind experience for aficionados and fans of the jew's harp around the world!All the best,Deirdre MorganCoordinator for the AmericasPROGRAMFor implementation of main eventsVII International Congress-Festival“Khomus (trump) in the cultural dimensions of the world” (further VII. IJHF)23-26 June 2011, Yakutsk22.06.11 WednesdayDay of arrival and accommodation15:00 Opening of exhibition “Jew’s Harps of the Peoples of the World”16:00 Departure for Namskiy, Khangalasskiy Ulus23.06.11 Thursday1st day of VII. IJHF09:00-09:45 Festive opening of VII. IJHF with participation of President and Government members of Republic of Sakha-Yakutia10:00-12:45 Plenum session of Congress14:00-17:45 Congress: working groups.Master classes of Jew’s Harp-players and pedagogues16:00-17:45 Competition of International Jew’s Harp SmithsAuction of Jew’s harps from renown masters19:00 Grande Concert “Resounds Khomus of Oeloenkho”.Competition of International Jew’s Harp Virtuosos24.06.11 Friday2nd day of VII. IJHF09:00-12:45 Continuation of Congress-workshops14:00-17:45 Final meeting of the Congress with resume19:00 Festive closure of VII. IJHFHonoring the winners in competitionsGala-concert “Khomus gathers friends”25.06.11 Saturday3rd finalizing day of VII. IJHF, in Yakutsk09:00-17:45 Participation in the national solstice festival “Ysyekh”12:00-13:15 Opening Ceremony with participation of delegates from VII. IJHF14:00-16:00 Competition “Khomus Kuo” (young female players)Departure of participants for Vilyuisk26.06.11 Sunday4th day, Vilyuiskiy Ulus09:00-11:15 Opening of Ulus “House of Masters”. Opening of studio Kylaan Uus.Opening of the exhibition “Fates, linked by Komus”11:30 Ysyekh-festival of the Khomus (trump) of the peoples of the world15:00 Gala-concert of the Jew’s Harp Players of the world.18:00 departure for YakutskDeparture of the participantsHead of the working commissionVice-minister of culture and spiritual developmentM.M.Donskoy(working translation by Franz Kumpl)Additional InformationAll information provided so far is from Russian documents (translated by Franz Kumpl) and email-communication between Franz Kumpl and Nikolay Shishigin, director of Khomus (Trump) Museum in Yakutsk, received since 25 January 2011. The Organisation Committee has promised to provide with English translations on their homepage http://www.ilkhomus.com/There are still many open issues (e.g. competition entry, competition categories, gender split, concerts of groups, accompanying musicians, etc) which will be answered in the weeks to come.PerformersA total of 100 players from Europe, the Americas and Africa are anticipated, besides players from Asia and the CIS. The IJHS has formed a Programme Committee (PC), existing of Franz Kumpl, Michael Wright, Philippe Dallais and Aron Szilagyi whose task is to recommend the foreign performers from Europe and the Americas to the Organizing Committee in Yakutsk (YOC). The PC collects the national lists of proposed participants from the below listed board members. Anyone wishing to be considered should contact their nearest board member as soon as possible in order to be considered. The PC will forward the list to the YOC by middle of February, so that the participants will be able to successfully organise the trip.TravelThe YOC have proposed two options for performers:Option 1: Invited guest - flight from Moscow, accommodation and food provided – this will be a limited number (31 from all around the world) and the decision as to who will be chosen will be by the YOC.Option 2: Invited participant – for any participant who enters the competitions (see below) the YOC will pay for accommodation and food, but not for transport.A third option applies to non-performers:Option 3: Audience - all costs to be picked up by non-performer, but the YOC has promised to help with cheap accommodation and if possible, even extend the invitation, which is needed for getting the visa.Participants are expected to arrive in Yakutsk on Wednesday, 22nd June. The flight Moscow-Yakutsk is usually a night-flight, which means that participants will fly on Tuesday, 21st June during daytime from their respective cities to Moscow and continue in the eveningto Yakutsk; -Yakutia Airlines leaves Moscow at 18:20 and arrives in Yakutsk at 7:00 the next day.Return flight is expected to be Monday, 27th June in the morning by Yakutia Airlines, leaving Yakutsk at 8:00 in the morning and arriving in Moscow at 8:40 (flying with sunrise), continuing the same day back home. This flight Moscow-Yakutsk-Moscow costs about €900.VisasInvited guests and invited participants will receive the invitation from the YOC, with which you may obtain the visa at your national Russian Consulate. At the Consulate you will need the filled in Visa-form, the invitation from the YOC, 1 (sometimes 2) passport-photos, and a medical insurance for the given period (20-27 June 2011). You can avoid this bureaucracy by working through a tour agency in your home-town which offers journeys to Russia. You might be able to get a quite cheap package at the tour agency, including at least the visa and the flight.Audience will get everything at the Tour Agency, even an invitation, for which one has to pay some extra-money.AccommodationAll participants will be accommodated by the hosts. Anyone travelling as audience (i.e. non-performer) should notify their PC member as soon as possible.Dietary issuesPlease indicate to your local contact (below) any dietary issues you might have as soon as possible.TicketsInformation on event tickets to follow.Contacts – National and Regional contacts:Americas – Deirdre Morgan deirdreannemorgan@gmail.comAustria – Franz Kumpl franz.kumpl@aon.atGermany – Gerd Conradt mandala.vision@gmx.deFrance – Tran Quang Hai tranquanghai@gmail.comHungary/Slovakia – Aron Szilagyi aural@t-online.huItaly – Luca Recupero luca_recupero@yahoo.itScandinavia– Svein Westad s-westad@online.noSwitzerland – Philippe Dallais dallais@vmz.uzh.chNetherlands – Daniel Hentschel mail@danibal.nlUK – Michael Wright jewsharper@btinternet.comRecommended do’s and don’ts in Russia and YakutiaInformation to follow.CompetitionsThree competitions will be held during Congress:- best Jew’s harp smith- best female player (until age of 25, possibly till 30)- best male virtuosoAccording to the information so far, competition entry costs $100.Jew’s Harp Maker competitionThere will be 9 categories. The Yakutian masters Chemchoev, Gotovcev and Osipov will not participate in the competition, since they already have earned at some time the grade “Best Khomus of the World”. The international jury will define 9 Jew’s harp makers from the whole world who earn this title.The 9 categories include:- Best maker of traditional Jew’s harp according to national diversity- Best maker of a broad range of Jew’s harps- Best maker-innovatorThe Commission has the right to add a category, if needed.Organisers of the competition are the Ministries of Culture, of Education and Science of Sakha-Yakutia, the Mayor of Yakutsk and the Jew’s Harp Museum.The makers who get the title “Best Jew’s harp of the World” become member of the international experts’ commission.The participating maker has to present to the Commission 3 Jew’s harps, a Jew’s harp player has to demonstrate the musical quality of the instrument either live or by video.The participant has to present material about his/her activities (printed matter or DVD) and about musicians playing on his/her instrument.The Organisation Committee has the right to give the presented material, including the Jew’s harps, to the Khomus/Trump Museum in Yakutsk.The 9 winners will receive a diploma and a price.There will be also an auction for sale of Jew’s harps from famous makers.The Organisation Committee provides the invitation and pays for accommodation and food of the participant, but not for transport.Competition of female playersThe respective document says that the ladies have to be between 16 and 25 years old, but in certain cases up to 30 years will be allowed.The presentation has to be a solo-performance, only pre-recorded tape is allowed as background, no live accompaniment.The player has to perform 2 pieces of 3 minutes each.The procedure is:1.stage: presentation in national dress and a traditional piece2.stage: free improvisationThere will be 7 categories. The Commission has the right to add up to 3 more categories, if needed.The winners will receive a diploma and a precious price.The Organisation Committee provides the invitation and pays for accommodation and food of the participant, but not for transport.Competition of male virtuososMinimum age of participant is 25 years. Master-players who already have received the title “Jew’ Harp Virtuoso of the World” will be part of the Commission and not participate in the competition itself. From Sakha-Yakutia will be maximum 7 jury-participants.The presentation has to be a solo-performance, only pre-recorded tape is allowed as background, no live accompaniment.The player has to perform 2 pieces of 5 minutes each.The procedure is:1.stage: presentation of a piece with traditional styles and techniques of his culture.2.stage: free improvisationCriteria for evaluation:- Performance of traditional styles and techniques of his culture- Musicality- Virtuosity- National dressMaking use of other instruments besides the jew’s harp is not allowed.There will be 9 categories. The Commission has the right to add up to 3 more categories, if needed.The winners will receive a diploma and a precious price.The Organisation Committee provides the invitation and pays for accommodation and food of the participant, but not for transport.---oOo---Other NewsDanibal tells us that the new Society URL is www.jewsharpsociety.org. Restyling of the site is in progress.Lindsay Porteous’ re-issued recording ‘Portrait of a Scottish Jew’s-Harp Player’ is now available on CD. Michael Wright (jewsharper@btinternet.com), will forward all enquiries to Lindsay.If anyone wishes to provide pre-event news, please contact Michael. Wright (jewsharper@btinternet.com).
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