Hi! Welcome to me, Degi! Inspired by the great composers of the world since my childhood in Mongolia, it has long been my dream to share my music with others. My melodies are a unique instrumental fusion of traditional Mongolian music spun with a modern techno twist. This is my own distinctive and intimate style, and pours forth from my heart. It gives me great pleasure to share it with you, and through it, express part of my Mongolian culture. I was born in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia, population about 900,000, where I grew up and studied. I was selected to attend the Music College of Mongolia in 1986 at the age seven of and graduated in 1998. The College years were extremely demanding, calling for endless hours of arduous practice. I am very happy to say, however, that all the hard work paid off. I owe a debt of gratitude to all those who, along the way, helped instill in me the discipline, and nurtured my passion to pursue my career. For two years I studied for a degree in music under the tutelage of Dylana Jenson, Distinguished Professor of Music at Grand Valley State University, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Prior to this, while studying music in Ulaanbaatar, I was enrolled at the Mongolian University of Science and Technology, from where I graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. I began performing in public while still in Music College. I started with classical performances, and gradually widened my repertoire to embrace more contemporary music. During my school years and later, I performed with The Sparkling Trio, a classical group I formed with two colleagues. Our inspired performances and abiding friendship encouraged me greatly in developing an affinity for the stage, and appreciation of the stimulating energy of my audiences. I also played at a club in Ulaanbaatar with Black and White, a lively jazz band. This experience not only afforded me regular practice and the opportunity to ‘bounce off’ and jam with other musicians, it also opened up fresh avenues of music to explore. I often perform solo concerts and private shows, and have staged successful concerts in South Korea, Japan, Russia, Poland, China, Thailand and several locations in the USA. In August 2003 I released High in the Hentii Mountains, my first solo album. Its seven tracks are popular old Mongolian tunes which I then modernized, and imbued with a range of warm moods and resonant tones. My second release, Mongolian Treasures, is different yet again, blending both folk and classical themes while portraying an even broader palette of emotions. I find my music slowly evolving as I continue to grow, both as a musician as well as a person. I find it deeply gratifying to observe and experience these subtle changes—in style, quality, texture, and meaning—as they slowly develop in their own unique and very personal way. I believe it is this sense of awareness that allows me to connect so intimately with my audiences. My music is my heart, and it pleases me beyond words to share it with the world. An Interview.... Degi, I heard you were born in Mongolia and live in Singapore. Mongolia has two regions, one independent and the other ruled by China. Which part were you born in? I was born in independent Mongolia (the former Mongolian People's Republic); the other place is Inner Mongolia, now a province of China. I visit Singapore to record, but I don’t live there. Why did you take up the violin? It is a long story. When I was in kindergarten, teachers from the Music Conservatory were scouting for potential musical talent. They tested for musical skills, including our physique, especially checking if our hands and fingers would be good for playing a musical instrument. They picked me as a potential musician, and my mother and family thought it would be very prestigious for me to go to the Music College, so they encouraged me to take up the violin. The rest is history. As with many others, learning and practicing, endlessly; and then Wow! You can do this! Yes! I can play! And I enjoy playing! Do you have violinists you especially like or look up to? I am classically trained. My teachers all studied in Russia, which has produced many of the best classical musicians in the world. I personally adore Paganini, who was one of the most brilliant violin players in history. My dream is to feel the same as Paganini felt about music; how he possessed the violin and was possessed by it. How do you think you compare with fusion violinists like Vanessa Mae, who is so popular worldwide? Yes, fusion violinists like Vanessa Mae are popular. I like her music and I think that she's very talented. As for me, I play the violin, which I still think of as a great classical instrument, so I play classical music. But I have emotions, as we all do, and I get inspiration from many sources. I use the violin to express those emotions the best I can. I admire Vanessa Mae for introducing the violin as not just a classical instrument, but also one that can also play contemporary popular music. Growing up in Mongolia, it was natural for me to appreciate classical music, still evergreen in the hearts of all Mongolians. Appreciating this was natural for me, so as I grew musically, I wanted to play the melodies in a contemporary style. I wanted to reach out to all, not just to Mongolians but also to international audiences. I enjoy playing these tunes tremendously. They come from my heart, as I remember them from my childhood. I am very happy that so many different audiences like them as much as I do. They said that your debut album was folk music rewritten for the violin. Tell us more about it. As I have said, I have given folk melodies a modern treatment; but the melodies are still the same. The backing and arrangement are modern, and to top it all I play them on my Yamaha electric violin, which has a really different sound to the classical violin. The CD has seven tracks. The first four (High in the Mountains, Melody of the Heart, Migrating Birds, Theme from Uran Khas/Waltz) are Mongolian classical compositions, truly Mongolian in character. The others are contemporary, especially written for me. This year I released my second CD. These enchanting songs are an instrumental fusion of traditional Mongolian melodies with a modern, techno-based edge. This is my own distinctive, intimate style, and all the tunes are played straight from my heart. It gives me great pleasure to share part of my Mongolian culture with everyone. Tertiary Education... Grand Valley State University: BA in Music Performance (2003-2005) Mongolian University of Science and Technology: BS in English Translation (1998-2002) Mongolian National Music Conservatory: honours in Music Performance and Education (1986-1998) Landmarks... • Associate Concertmaster, Grand Valley State University Symphony Orchestra (2003-05). • Awarded both a Music Honours Scholarship and an Orchestral Scholarship for study at Grand Valley State University (2003–05). • Promotional tour of Japan and Korea for my CD (2003). • Released a CD of fusion music, blending classical and techno influences with traditional Mongolian melodies, produced in Singapore (2002). • Part of a trio that was awarded a jury alternate selection at the National Chamber Music Festival (2000). • Citation of achievement in teaching, Yamaha Institute of Music, Mongolia (1999). • Graduated with honours from the National Music Conservatory (1998). • Awarded silver medal, National Young Violinists Competition, (1996). • 1st Violin, National Philharmonic, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Another Interview (from Mongol Messenger, December 14, 2005) Fiddling while fame burns... Degi (Delgertsetseg) is Mongolia’s best-known fiddler, enthralling concertgoers and dinner parties alike for years with her interpretation of Mongolian standards. Her understated style distinguishes her from Vanessa Mae, the fiddler who has been wowing the western pop scene for a similar length of time. Degi usually plays solo, with a recorded backing; her act lacks the theatricality of Vanessa Mae. Degi, too, is as easy on the eye as on the ear, but goes for understated grace rather than flamboyance. She prefers the audience to listen rather than watch. One foreigner called her "the incredibly good one who looks so sexy." Enough, one would think, to go to anyone’s head, but not so. "I just like to be who I am, as long as I am happy with myself," she confided. Perhaps this is because the comment ignores her brains and energy. Having completed two degrees in Mongolia (music and translating), she was offered a full scholarship for a master’s at the Science and Technology University. She opted instead to take up a Music Honours Scholarship and an Orchestral Scholarship to Grand Valley State University, Michigan, completing a four-year music BA in two years. Back home in July, Degi then finished recording and mixing her second solo CD (Mongolian Treasures) and is now working on a third. Degi began studying the violin at age seven after scouts from the Music College in 1986 identified her (from the size and shape of her fingers) as a potential musician. "My mother and the family thought that it was so prestigious to be selected for the Music College that they encouraged me wholeheartedly to take up the violin." As her studies progressed, her mother’s ambition was for Degi to become a kindergarten teacher as things got tougher in the new democracy. "Kindergarten children got food, so their teachers had food too. In the early 1990s, food was not always easy to get," she reminisced. In 1996, at 17, she won a silver medal at the National Young Violinists’ Competition (where, one wonders, is the gold medal winner?) and graduated from the Conservatory in 1998 after 12 years’ hard slog. "We practised every day for countless hours, but…I appreciate…the discipline it has given me to pursue this career," she says. "Like many others, learning and practicing endlessly, and then Wow! You can do this! Yes! I can play! And I enjoy playing!" Her second album is now out, with what she describes as "enchanting tunes in an instrumental fusion of traditional Mongolian melodies with a modern, techno-based edge." Loving Mongolian folk music, she said, "I decided to do these tunes and melodies in contemporary style to reach out all types of audiences, not only to Mongolians but also to international audiences." But she said she is at heart a classical violinist, having occupied the first violin chair for Mongolia’s National Philharmonic Orchestra. For her two years in Grand Rapids, Michigan she was the university orchestra’s associate concertmaster, and is particularly proud of having studied under Dylana Jenson, a noted American classical violinist. "My dream is to feel the same as Paganini felt about music; how he possessed the violin and was possessed by it." Asked whether a husband might insist on her giving up her musical career, she said firmly that they would have to discuss that before any such marriage. Surprisingly, she explained that as regards marriage, she was a traditionalist, and that the husband should always be "a finger above the wife." But she gave the strong impression that first there would need to be agreement that music would continue – and skilfully tap-danced around whether there was a man in the picture at the moment.