Sacred Music Sacred Dance for World Healing (Two Performances)

From August 14-18, Tibetan Buddhist monks will construct a Mandala Sand Painting at Asia Society Texas Center.

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Following the last three years’ sold-out programs at Asia Society, the famed multiphonic singers of southern India's Drepung Loseling Monastery return to perform Sacred Music Sacred Dance for World Healing on Saturday, August 17. Their sellout performances in Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center received national acclaim, and were praised as “remarkable” by The New York Times and “a universal expression of the human subconscious” by The Washington Post.

Robed in magnificent costumes and playing traditional Tibetan instruments, the Drepung Loseling monks will present ancient temple music and dance. The Loseling monks are particularly renowned for their multiphonic chanting known as zokkay (complete chord). Each of the main chantmasters simultaneously intones three notes, thus each individually creating a complete chord. 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 splendor.

These performances complement the Mandala Sand Painting exhibition. From August 14-18, Tibetan Buddhist monks will construct a sand mandala and perform special ceremonies at Asia Society Texas Center. Admission to the Mandala Sand Painting is free; seating is not guaranteed at high-traffic times. Please visit the exhibition webpage for daily viewing hours and special ceremonies.

About the Performances

The monks will perform an afternoon matinee as well as an evening full-length program.

Afternoon Matinee (2-2:45 p.m.)
This shorter performance, appropriate for families, will feature a selection of the full-length program's music and dance.

Evening Program (7-8:30 p.m.)
This full-length performance has sold out the past two years.

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Press Coverage

Sacred Music for World Healing Returns to Asia Society Texas Center
Tibetan Buddhist monks begin five-day healing ceremony in Houston
Buddhist Monks, Sand Paintings, and the Ephemerality of Now

Musical History

On past tours, the monks of Drepung Loseling have performed with Kitaro, Paul Simon, Philip Glass, Edie 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 music 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 the monks 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 for 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, the monks had the honor of creating special mandalas and leading prayer ceremonies and meditations in New York and Washington, D.C. 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, they 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.

About the Drepung Loseling Monastery

Following the legacy of Drepung Loseling Monastery, India, Drepung Loseling is dedicated to the study and preservation of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of wisdom and compassion. A center for the cultivation of both heart and intellect, it provides a sanctuary for the nurturance of inner peace and kindness, community understanding, and global healing.

The Mystical Arts of Tibet tours are organized by the Drepung Loseling Monastery. Performing Arts and Culture programs are presented by Wells Fargo. Major support for Exhibitions and Performing Arts and Culture programs comes from Chinhui Juhn and Eddie Allen, Nancy C. Allen, Leslie and Brad Bucher, Dr. Ellen R. Gritz and Milton D. Rosenau, Jr., the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance and the Anchorage Foundation. Generous funding also provided by AARP, The Clayton Fund, Miller Theatre Advisory Board, Texas Commission on the Arts, Ann Wales, Wortham Foundation, and through contributions from the Friends of Asia Society, a dedicated group of individuals and organizations committed to bringing exceptional exhibitions and programming to Asia Society Texas Center.

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