Tibetan Monks Perform "Sacred Music Sacred Dance for World Healing"

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn – The famed multiphonic singers of Tibet’s Drepung Loseling Monastery, whose sellout performances in Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center received national acclaim, will perform Sacred Music Sacred Dance for World Healing at Saint John’s University as part of their international tour of The Mystical Arts of Tibet. Performances are Friday, February 2, 2007 at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, February 3, 2007 at 2:00 p.m. at the Stephen B. Humphrey Theater at Saint John’s University.

The Mystical Arts of Tibet tour is co-produced by Richard Gere Productions and Drepung Loseling Institute, the North American Seat of Drepung Loseling Monastery, India. Endorsed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the tour has three basic purposes: to make a contribution to world peace and healing; to generate a greater awareness of the endangered Tibetan civilization; and to raise support for the Tibetan refugee community in India.

The performances feature multiphonic singing, wherein the monks simultaneously intone three notes of a chord. The Drepung Loseling monks are particularly renowned for this unique singing. They also utilize traditional instruments such as 10-foot long dung-chen horns, drums, bells, cymbals and gyaling trumpets. Rich brocade costumes and masked dances, such as the Dance of the Sacred Snow Lion, add to the exotic splendor.

The monks of Drepung Loseling have a very distinguished modern-day musical history. On past tours they have performed with Kitaro, Paul Simon, Philip Glass, Eddie Brickell, Natalie Merchant, Patti Smith, the Beastie Boys, and the Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart, to name but a few.

In addition, two of their recordings achieved top-10 listings on the New Age charts: Tibetan Sacred Temple Music (Shining Star Productions) and Sacred Tibetan Chants (Music and Arts Program of America, Inc.). Their most recent recording, Compassion (Milennia Music), pairs them with the Abbey of Gethsemani Schola in an encounter of Gregorian chant with Tibetan multiphonic singing.

Their music was featured on the Golden Globe-nominated soundtrack of the film Seven Years in Tibet, starring Brad Pitt (Columbia Pictures) and they performed with Philip Glass in Lincoln Center in the live presentation of his award-winning score to the Martin Scorsese film Kundun (Disney).

In response to the September 11 tragedies, they had the honor of creating special mandalas and leading prayer ceremonies and meditations in New York and Washington. Organized in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution, these events were dedicated to the healing and protection of America.

The Loseling monks have twice been featured artists at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, representing Tibetan culture, and in July 2003 enjoyed the rare honor of representing Tibet in the Cultural Olympiad of Greece, a pre-Olympic celebration of World Sacred Music and Dance. For this event the monks toured Greece and performed at venues that included the Acropolis and ancient Olympia, the historic site of the original Olympics.

Tickets to the Mystical Arts of Tibet are $20, Senior (60+)/Youth (5-21) $15, CSB/SJU ID $10. For tickets call the Stephen B. Humphrey Theater at (320) 363-3577 or order online at www.csbsju.edu/finearts, though discounts are not available online. To learn more about the Mystical Arts of Tibet, visit their website at www.mysticalartsoftibet.org

Mystical Arts of Tibet:

Friday, February 2, 2007 at 8:00 p.m.

Saturday, February 3, 2007 at 2:00 p.m.

Stephen B. Humphrey Theater, Saint John’s University

The College of Saint Benedict for women and Saint John’s University for men are partners in liberal arts education, providing students the opportunity to benefit from the distinctions of not one, but two nationally recognized Catholic, undergraduate colleges. Together, the colleges challenge students to live balanced lives of learning, work, leadership and service in a changing world.

Contact: Leslie Hanlon
CSB/SJU Fine Arts Programming
320-363-5311; lhanlon@csbsju.edu

Posted: December 11, 2006