Namgyal Lhamo is an internationally acclaimed Tibetan Opera, classical singer and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. She is based in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Early life

Starting at the age of eight, Lhamo, recognized by many as a child prodigy, and her sister,

Kelsang Chukie Tethong Kelsang Chukie Tethong or Chukie Tethong (born 1957) is a Tibetan exile singer who was traditionally trained in India. She performs Tibetan music and she has twice performed for the Dalai Llama Life Tethong was born in Tibet in 1957. She was ...

, trained under great masters of Tibetan Opera and Classical Music at the

Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts ] The Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA) was founded by Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama on reaching McLeod Ganj, Himachal Pradesh, India in exile from Tibet in August 1959. It was then called Tibetan Music, Dance and Drama Society, ...

set up by the

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...

. Lhamo trained for fourteen years. Her sister trained for eleve years as she had to earn money after their father died. Lhamo went on to become the star performer of the Institute and toured extensively. Through this passage she stepped into the tradition of the various kinds of classical and

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

of her country. Her interpretations of the

Nangma Nangma (Tibetan: ; Chinese: 囊玛) is a genre of Tibetan dance music closely related to Toeshey (སྟོད་གཞས་). The word Nangma derives from the Persian word ''Naghma'' meaning melody. Both a band and a nightclub have been named aft ...

and the Toeshe,

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

an classical songs from the 17th century, have been universally acclaimed and she is popularly known as The

Nightingale The common nightingale, rufous nightingale or simply nightingale (''Luscinia megarhynchos''), is a small passerine bird best known for its powerful and beautiful song. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is no ...

of Tibet. Since the 1980s, Namgyal Lhamo has lived in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

while her sister was based in India. Lhamo continues to perform at concerts in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and across the world, still pursuing the mission to preserve

Tibetan culture Tibet developed a distinct culture due to its geographic and climatic conditions. While influenced by neighboring cultures from China, India, and Nepal, the Himalayan region's remoteness and inaccessibility have preserved distinct local i ...

through her music.

Career

She toured in 1998 through the

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

with

Impressions and participated in global manifestations such as Earth Dance, World Artists for Tibet, the 50th Anniversary of the UN Declaration of

Human Rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

and performed at Freedom concerts in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

alongside acts like The

Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...

Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, Morissette began her career in Canada in the early 1990s with tw ...

and

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

. In 2008, Namgyal Lhamo teamed up with

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

musicians

Chris Constantinou Chris Constantinou is an English musician, best known as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist for Adam Ant. Childhood and early bands Constantinou was born at Charing Cross Hospital in London and at the age of three he moved to Plymouth. ...

and

Marco Pirroni Marco Francesco Andrea Pirroni (born 27 April 1959, London, England) frequently credited simply as Marco, is a British guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He has worked with Adam Ant, Sinéad O'Connor, Siouxsie and the Banshees and many ...

of the rock band

The Wolfmen The Wolfmen are an English rock music band formed in 2004, and centred on Marco Pirroni (guitars, co-writer) and Chris Constantinou (bass guitar, lead vocals, co-writer). Background Constantinou began as a bass guitar player with Diz Watson unt ...

and recorded the single "Paradise Lost". The music video of the track was directed by former

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

filmmaker Arvind Iyer and was released on the eve of the Beijing Olympics. "Paradise Lost" screened in competition at the Asian Hotshots Berlin film festival in January 2009 and the 2010 Tibet Film Festival in London and received the 2009 Best Music Video Award at the Tibetan Music Awards. Her debut feature film, The Nightingale of Tibet, where Lhamo plays the role of singer Yiga Gyalnang, is loosely based on her own life and has screened across various international film festivals such as the 35th

Cairo International Film Festival The Cairo International Film Festival ( ar, مهرجان القاهرة السينمائي الدولي) is an annual internationally accredited film festival held in Cairo Opera House. It was established in 1976 and has taken place every year sin ...

, where it was nominated for Best International Film on Human Rights.

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

artist

Ai Weiwei Ai Weiwei (, ; born 28 August 1957) is a Chinese contemporary artist, documentarian, and activist. Ai grew up in the far northwest of China, where he lived under harsh conditions due to his father's exile. As an activist, he has been openly c ...

called the film "A sad and moving film that made us realize that the plight of the

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 ...

people is the plight of all humankind." Sikyong

Lobsang Sangay Lobsang Sangay (, ; born 5 September 1968) is a Tibetan-American politician who was Kalon Tripa of the Tibetan Administration from 2011 to 2012, and Sikyong of the Central Tibetan Administration from 2012 to 2021. The Tibetan Administration wa ...

, Prime Minister of

, commented "The manner in which this film has been treated is simple, yet is very potent in depiction. It is a very dignified and restrained interpretation of one woman's struggle to keep her spiritual, cultural and artistic space alive."

Filmography

Executive producer

* '' Drapchi'' (2014)

Co-writer

* ''Drapchi'' (2014)

Actor

* ''Drapchi'' (2014) * ''Paradise Lost'' (2008) * ''Seven Dreams of Tibet'' (2001)

Awards and nominations

*2006/7:'' Best female Tibetan singer'' - Tibetan Music awards. *2007: ''Best female solo artist''

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

-International music awards, Musicaid, U.K *2008: ''Nominee Best world music act''

- MixedMagazine awards. *2009: ''Best Music Video Artiste''-Tibetan Music awards. *2013- ''Best Traditional Artiste'' -Tibetan Music awards. *2013- ''Best Traditional Album'' -Tibetan Music awards.

Discography

*Voices from Tibet (''with Gang Chenpa: Papyros, MWCD5005, Music & Words, 2000'') *Songs from Tibet (''Papyros MWCD5010, Music & Words, 2005'') *Pure (''Silk Road, 2007'') *The Enchanted Land (''Silk Road, 2007'') *Musical Offering 1 - An Anthology of Tibetan Songs (''Papyros, Music & Words, 2014'')

References

External links

*http://www.namgyallhamo.com - Official website *http://www.day-fornight.org/tibetfilmfestival/images/stories/TFFbrochure.pdf *http://www.thetibetpost.com/en/news/exile/406-tibetan-and-international-artists-honored-at-2009-tibetan-music-awards *http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0389366/ *http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1499738/ *http://www.drapchithefilm.com *http://www.musictibet.com/awards/ *http://www.asianhotshotsfestival.com/eng/film-programme/competition/short3.php?modus=view&ident=39074 *http://insideworldmusic.blogspot.com/2009/04/cd-review-tibets-new-voice.html *http://insideworldmusic.blogspot.com/2009/04/cd-review-tibets-trip-hop-temptress.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Lhamo, Namgyal 20th-century Tibetan women singers Living people Tibetan actresses Year of birth missing (living people) Chinese expatriates in the Netherlands Dutch people of Tibetan descent 20th-century Chinese women singers