From Zayton To New York vol.12: Hymn to the Himalayas: Tibetan Music in NYC

Traditional Tibetan performing arts consist of a great variety of styles, genres, and instruments. On one hand, elaborate classical operas, where dancers embody characters from age-old epics, help pass on a millennia of beliefs, sounds, and histories. On the other, villages throughout Tibet, and the Tibetan diaspora, each have their local takes on regional folk tunes for use in various life-cycle ceremonies or seasonal occasions. From percussive dancing while playing the dranyen (lute) to melismatic songs accompanied by the pipa (fiddle), instrumentalists also resound in Tibet and the global diaspora. Today in Queens, where the largest community of Tibetans in the United States now resides, one can hear any number of these traditions animating community life, although artists, elders, and other cultural experts face the new challenge of passing on Tibetan traditions to youth.

The artists featured in this concert have all performed across these genres and issues, contributing their talents to the Himalayan Sustaining Cultures Initiatives, including a music video project to present an original version of the globally popular folk song, “Gyaljang Mountain,” as sung and demonstrated by the local elder Norbu Tsering, born in the village of Gyanor, Tibet. Together, they will present general audiences with a rare opportunity to experience Tibetan traditional music and dance from the homeland as much as Queens.

Tashi Dhindu Thakuri, musical director for this concert, was previously a performer for the Gangjong Doegar performing arts group in Kalimpong, India. He is dedicated and passionate about Tibetan cultural preservation, with the youth in particular. He teaches dranyen (Tibetan lute) classes at the Himalayan Language and Culture Program, where his classes serve as a rare platform for second-generation Himalayan-American children to gain exposure to Tibetan traditional arts.

Rinzin Dolma graduated from the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA). She has performed in numerous Tibetan cultural events throughout the United States and previously served as a dance and song teacher at the Boston Tibetan Association. After moving to New York, she continued teaching Tibetan dance and music to children at the Tibetan New York Service Center. In 2025, she was elected to the Board of the Tibetan Community of NY & NJ and currently serves as the Tibetan Culture Coordinator.

Tenzin Jamyang is a graduate of the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA), where he trained from 2004 to 2016. Specializing in acting, he became a senior artist and actively participated in numerous competitions and performances. He performed widely across India at major Tibetan events such as Shotön, Kagyu Monlam, and Trungkar. His work took him to cities including Delhi, Sikkim, and Shimla, as well as internationally to Russia and South Korea, where he represented and promoted Tibetan performing arts.

Nawang Tsering Gurung is a consultant, translator, speaker, researcher, and tour specialist originally from the Himalayan region of Mustang in Nepal and now based in New York City. He is founder and coordinator of the oral history project Voices of the Himalayas: Language, Culture and Belonging in Immigrant New York, which has been documenting the languages, cultures, social histories, folklore and community life of Himalayan New Yorkers. He is also founder and director of the Himalayan Language and Culture Program, which provides free cultural education for Himalayan youth in Queens.

This concert is made possible generous funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Samuels Foundation, the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, and the Howard Gilman Foundation.

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