Tenzin Choegyal's voice and musical talents are uniquely beautiful as he draws on his traditional Tibetan roots to create his original and authentic musical compositions which expresses his devotions to his roots. Since his Australian world music debut in 1997, Tenzin’s cantering rhythms, extraordinary vocal ability and flute has become a fixture of World Music.
Tenzin has worked with numerous prominent Australian musicians from many different genres including Michael Askill, Shen Flindell, Spiros Rantos, Ash Grunwald, Paul Coppen, Stringmansassy, Oscar and Marigold, Riley Lee, James Coats , Tsering Dorjee Bawa, Baattar Sukh, Katherine Philip, Cathedral Band, Marchelo Milani to name a few. He also sings with the exiled Monks of Tibet, allowing room to experiment with rhythm and structure, to challenge deeply entrenched Tibetan musical norms and find an exceptional place in the complex tapestry of global sounds.
Recently at a US a concert, a listener described hearing Tenzin Choegyal sing live as “heaven on earth.” His voice and music however are only part of his amazing story. Tenzin was born in Tibet, escaped to Nepal and was raised in exile in Dharamsala, India. As a child, Tenzin would listen to his mother singing in the nomadic style of Tibet and he attributes much of his passion for for his music to her.
His musical concerts and tours in Australia often include education on Tibetan culture and history. Tenzin also raises aids through his tours for Tibetan monks in exile as well as the Tibetan Children’s Village, the school for Tibetan refugee children that he attended as a child.
The Workshop in Tibetan singing
Tenzin leads an innovative workshop in the Tibetan style of vocal projection and shares his knowledge of the technique and the stories told through songs of Tibet's nomadic people. Participants learn simple Tibetan folk songs and investigate the ancient Tibetan art of "Lama Mani". The Lama Mani tradition - the telling of Buddhist parables through song -dates back to the 12th Century. The songs were performed by wandering storytellers who travelled from village to village, drawing on their own often humble origins to relate to people from all backgrounds. Vividly illustrated Buddhist thangka paintings depicted the narrative and helped the audience understand what was essentially a teaching.
The Performances
Australia:
Womadelaide 2006, 2008
Woodford Folk Festival 1997, 98, 99, 2000, 01, 02, 03, & 04
National Folk Festival 1999
Port Fairy Festival 2002
Queensland Sacred Music Festival 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004
World Beat Festival 2002, 2003
MiniMax Festival 2002
Sydney opera house 2000
Tibetan Freedom Concert Sydney 1999International:
EastCoast US tour 2007
Sweetwaters Festival 1998 (New Zealand)
Freedom Festival 2001 (New Zealand)
The 60th anniversary of enthronement of
His Holiness the Dalai Lama 2001(India)
Free Spirit Festival 2001, 2004 (India)
Karmapa’s Birthday Festival 2004 (India)