The Dadsuren Traditional Music Project (DTMP) was established by Itgel co-founder Liliana Goldman after conducting ethnomusicology research on threatened artistic traditions of Mongolia. By living and studying with master Long Song singer Dadsuren Garov, Liliana came to understand the extent to which the unique vocal tradition of Long Song is a threatened yet integral component of Mongolia’s cultural legacy.

Long Song is not only an alluring art form, but a means of chronicling local and family history, and is even credited as a powerful mechanism for communicating with animals. But despite its important role in pastoral life and oral histories, Long Song was widely supressed during Mongolia’s socialist period, viewed as an expression of ethnic pride that undermined loyalty to the State. While the concert-hall tradition of Long Song was preserved as a celebrated performance art, countryside Long Song was almost wiped out, preserved today by only a handful of remaining masters.
 

Inspired by the lifelong dream of master singer Dadsuren Garov to pass on his knowledge of the endangered tradition to young musicians, Itgel established the DTMP as a vehicle to establish the first-ever rural music school specifically dedicated to the preservation of Long Song.