IT MIGHT be tempting for arty-culty types to act like they know more about Mongolia than the barbecue, even when they don’t. But Jindong Cai, the founder and director of Stanford’s Pan-Asian Music Festival, has no such pretensions. He freely admits he had no idea what to expect upon traveling there. “When I visited Mongolia last year, I was amazed by the vibrancy of its arts and cultural development,” he says. But what makes Cai special, and what has made the festival he founded in 2004 one of the area’s below-the-radar keepers, is his ability to bring that enthusiasm home, and use it to build an ambitious week-long program that offers a survey of art and culture “From the Steppes” of Central Asia, as this year’s festival is called, and beyond. The festival runs Feb. 213, and the first live performance is on Friday, from Mongolian ethno-jazz group Boerte, who’ll be joined by throat singer Nanjid Sengedorj and horse-head fiddle player Urtaa Gantulga. The inspiration for the week’s other programs wind through borders, winding up with a performance of love songs by Iranian artist Mohsen Namjoo.
Stanford Pan-Asian Music Festival
Feb. 4-13
