Mesmerizing Inner Mongolian band Anda Union returns to Penn State Sept. 24

Anda Union, a nine-member band from Inner Mongolia, mesmerized an Eisenhower Auditorium audience at its Penn State debut two years ago. The engaging group returns to the Center for the Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in a concert titled The Wind Horse, which features instrumental and vocal music plus film clips depicting various aspects of life in its home autonomous region of the People’s Republic of China.

Tickets are still available for the Sept. 24 concert.

The uptempo band’s instruments include Mongolian versions of the lute and mouth harp, the morin khuur(horse head fiddle), the maodun chaoer (three-holed flute) and percussion.

“Their opening number alone could have supplanted an entire old-fashioned BBC sound effects department, as they evoked wind-swept steppes, bird calls, ringing bells and, of course, the approaching thunder of hooves,” wrote a critic for Edinburgh’s The Scotsman. “Exotic stuff, you might think, but what is perhaps surprising is that much of this music is tunefully accessible.”

Watch a video of the band performing its signature work, "Galloping Horses."

The band, which includes ethnically diverse musicians who draw their sound from the Mongol tribes unified by Genghis Khan, also features several vocalists and throat singers.

“Anda Union confirmed by this performance that they are not just a niche interest, but essential viewing for anyone who is a fan of live music of any genre,” wrote a reviewer for BroadwayBaby.com “Their prodigious talent and infectious enthusiasm point to future stardom.”

Artistic Viewpoints, an informal moderated discussion featuring Anda Union documentary filmmaker Tim Pearce, is offered in Eisenhower one hour before the performance and is free for ticket holders. Artistic Viewpoints regularly fills to capacity, so seating is available on a first-arrival basis.