Sandwiched between Russia and China and spread across desert, forest, and tundra landscapes, Mongolia has a rich musical tradition that continues to be simultaneously preserved and innovated. Famed throat singers or horsehead fiddle players sometimes lend their skills to the burgeoning folk-pop genre, while Mongolian orchestras and ballerinas perform works by both European stalwarts and newer Mongolian composers. Explore these rich traditions while sharing your own in this historic and fascinating country.

Classical Movements has been organizing tours to East Asia since 1995 for groups including the for groups including the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Pacific Boychoir and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra, and Morgan State University Choir among many others. In 2017, Mongolian choir Egschligen performed at the Serenade! Choral Festival.

Sights & Sounds

  • Ulaanbaatar
  • Mongolia Symphony Orchestra
  • Mongolian Theatre Museum
  • Winter Palace of Bogd Khan
  • Gobi Desert
  • Horse-racing, wrestling & archery at the Naadam Festival
  • Verdant Gorkhi-Terelj National Park
  • Khövsgöl Nuur Lake in Siberia

Testimonials

“The Philadelphia Orchestra has a great tradition of sharing its music with audiences around the world, and it gives us great pleasure to continue this with our 2008 Anniversary Tour of Asia, which commemorates important anniversaries in both China and Korea.  Through these many visits, we have developed rich friendships with many wonderful people, who share our belief that the transformational power of music bridges cultural differences and brings people together.”

-James Undercofler, President & CEO [The Philadelphia Orchestra]

“Our tour to Japan, Singapore, and Myanmar was a revelation. Our students performed the B Minor Mass to sold-out houses in some of the top concert halls in these countries. We owe Classical Movements our great debt not only for attending so well to the practical details, but for understanding and being sensitive to our mission of using Sacred Music to reach out to the cultures of the world. Maestro Suzuki joins me in congratulating Classical Movements!”

-Martin Jean, Director [Yale Institute of Sacred Music] and Masaaki Suzuki, Conductor [Bach Collegium Japan]

Press

“The musical director and conductor of the Yale Glee Club said the group chose the destination ‘because of the wonderful friendships they discovered in Turkey.’ The Turkish word ‘dost’ (friends for life) is the reason we are performing in Istanbul,’ said Jeff Douma.”

-Hürriyet Daily News, Hatice Utkan | August 5, 2010

“Khubat Abbas Abdul Razaq, a cellist and one of the orchestra’s four women members, said: “I just want to say this is an honor to come to Washington and to play here.”

Samir Yosif, a double-bass player, said: “We want to let the American people know that we have a culture, that we have something to give them. It’s a great honor to be here and we thank the people who have helped us here to play.”

-The lndependent/UK, December 12, 2003

“Blue Heart has followed its clients’ suggestions to map out its expanding destinations. Vacationers travel from Guangzhou to Hong Kong by train visit the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and Tian’anmen Square and take in a performance of the famed Shanghai Acrobats.”

-Tour and Travel News, Michael Milligan | May 8, 1995

“The Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra visit involved a human element that transcended the usual business of arranging orchestra tours for Neeta Helms, executive vice president of Classical Movements. She ushered the musicians from their first nerve-wracking security checks at New York’s JFK Airport to their last tourist stop at Rockefeller Center on the way out of the country.”

-Symphony Magazine, Rebecca Winzenreid | March, 2004

“Kevin Fox, who is working with the Neemrana Foundation, the Capital City Minstrels and Delhi School of Music in the Capital, says that the Indian singers are very keen on the music and are eager to do more and learn more about choral singing. He adds, ‘I’ve met some excellent directors and teachers here who are working very creatively to spread the musical and social benefits of group singing.'”

-Mail Today, Srijani Ganguly | Feb 15, 2017