Biography of Tenzin Choegyal
Tenzin Choegyal is a traditional Tibetan musician who now resides in Queensland, Australia. Tenzin’s voice and musical talents are uniquely beautiful as he draws on his traditional Tibetan roots to create music which expresses his thoroughly modern life. Since his Australian world music debut in 1997, Tenzin’s cantering rhythms, soaring vocals and flute have enchanted audiences around the globe. He is very popular on the Australian festival circuit, playing the dranyen (long necked lute), lingbu (transverse flutes) and is revered for his extraordinary vocal ability.
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, 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 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 that genre to her early influence.
His musical concerts and tours in Australia often include education on Tibetan culture and history. Tenzin also raises money 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.