The Whole Music Experience

World/ Folkloric   Techung   Tibet (On The Road)   Arc Music     Many years ago, my first introduction to Tibetan music came when friends and I attended a Tibetan monk choir performance at the University of Washington.   Since that time I have heard Tibetan folkloric, sacred, and operatic songs.   Mostly, I’ve heard new age versions of Tibetan songs by artists such as Nawang Khechog.   Techung (his solo artist name), who now resides in San Francisco where he co-founded Chaksampa Tibetan Dance and Opera Company brings us love, folk and anthemic songs played on traditional and contemporary instruments on his CD, Tibet (On The Road) .   The opener, Lok Dro , a contemporary folk song asks Tibetans to return to the homeland.   The universal themes of the text showed up as the perfect song for the Native American documentary, A Good Day to Die , about the Native American civil rights movement.   The song B...

Playing for Change: Conversation with Filmmaker Jonathan Walls When it comes to street musicians, I have a fond memory of an African-American vocalist who sang soul tunes on University Avenue in Seattle. He accompanied his vocals by jingling a jar of coins and he always brought a smile to my face, even on the gloomiest days. Also in Seattle other street musician stars such as the Andean ensemble with their pan flutes and bombo drums performing at the Northwest Folklife Festival, where they drew crowds and downtown Seattle, as well as, an extraordinary Native American violinist that performed in Pike’s Place Market, etched themselves in my memory. So when I turned on the radio and to an NPR show, On Point , not too long ago, and heard an interview with Grammy award-winning producer/recording engineer Mark Johnson who chatted about his project, Playing for Change , I experienced goose bumps. My heart went out to Johnson who experienced an epiphany in a New York City subway...