Kesang Marstrand (born October 31, 1981) is an American

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She is best known for the single "Tibet Will Be Free" that she wrote after March 2008 unrest in Tibet, in support of the non-violent resistance of the Tibetan people, and for her debut album, Bodega Rose, which was released November 21, 2008."Interview: Kesang Marstrand", "Indiecision.com", February 28, 2009
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Early life

Born in Woodstock, New York, to a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

mother and

Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...

father. She grew up in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

and she later moved to New York City . Her interest in music began at an early age, as she discovered her passion for music via a piano in the common room of a schoolhouse in

. Marstrand started to study and practice meditation when she was 16, and had the opportunity to spend time at

Bokar Lhoba (English translation: ; ; bo, ལྷོ་པ།) is any of a diverse amalgamation of Sino-Tibetan-speaking tribespeople living in and around Pemako, a region in southeastern Tibet including Mainling, Medog and Zayü counties of Nying ...

Monastery in India, as well as the chance to visit Bodhgaya and Dharamshala.

Career

Kesang Marstrand has been writing and performing for the past decade. In November 2008, she released her debut album, Bodega Rose, a contemplative, acoustic work that includes accompaniment by renowned musician and composer, Karl Berger. The album, in addition to eleven original tracks, also includes a cover song, a sparse, down-tempo version of

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

and

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

's collaboration, " Say Say Say". In August 2009, Kesang Marstrand released her second Album, Hello Night, an album of lullabies mostly appropriate for children aged between 0 and 4. About.com selected Hello Night among The Best Kids' Music of 2009 Kesang Marstrand moved to

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from 2010 to 2013, where she was active on cultural scene. During the heights of 2011 Tunisian Revolution which toppled the president

Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very smal ...

, she had released her slow interpretation of the national anthem of Tunisia –

Humat al-Hima (, "Defenders of the Homeland") is the national anthem of Tunisia; the text was written by Mostafa Saadeq Al-Rafe'ie and Aboul-Qacem Echebbi. History The lyrics come from a poem written in the 1930s by Lebanese-born Egyptian poet Mostafa S ...

with positive response. Her third album, Our Myth, was released on May 15, 2011. Marstrand produced her newest album For My Love entirely at home in New York City. The result is ten songs that mark her debut as a producer, already have been called "an unusually gifted singer and composer," according to

Michael Erlewine John Michael Erlewine (; born July 18, 1941) is an American musician, astrologer, photographer, TV host, publisher and Internet entrepreneur who founded the music online database site AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide) in 1991. Car ...

, founder of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. In support of the album, Marstrand performed on

Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

's Coffee House Live, with her performance airing on June 23, 2016. In 2016, Marstrand supplied vocals for electronic act Tiger Mountain's single, My Heart Is A War.

Albums

References

External links

* Kesang Marstrand on Wikimedia Commons * * Allmusic review: Kesang Marstrand ''Bodega Rose'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Marstrand, Kesang 1981 births Songwriters from New York (state) American musicians of Tibetan descent American people of Danish descent American people of Tibetan descent Living people People from Woodstock, New York Singers from Colorado Singers from New York City Guitarists from Colorado 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American women guitarists