FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (4/05)
The following news release is from the Meadows Museum of Art at Centenary College of Louisiana, 2911 Centenary Boulevard, Shreveport, LA 71104
Phone: 318-869-5040; Fax: 318-869-5730
e-mail: ddufilho@centenary.edu

Tibetan Monks to Perform 'Sacred Music/Sacred Dance for World Healing' at Strand Theatre April 24

SHREVEPORT, LA — The famed multi-phonic singers of Tibet’s Drepung Loseling Monastery, whose sellout performances in Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center received national acclaim, will perform Sacred Music Sacred Dance for World Healing on April 24.

The event will be held from 2-4 p.m. at the Strand Theatre in Shreveport as part of the international tour of The Mystical Arts of Tibet. The performance in Shreveport has been scheduled by Centenary College's Meadows Museum of Art to complement the exhibitions Tibet: A Photographic Essay through the Eyes of Monks in Exile and Men Against the Clouds: Photographs by Early Explorers to Tibet on view in the museum galleries through May 29.

The Sacred Music Sacred Dance performance is co-produced by Richard Gere Productions and the Drepung Loseling Institute, the North American Seat of Drepung Loseling Monastery, India. Endorsed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the tour has three basic purposes: to make a contribution to world peace and healing; to generate a greater awareness of the endangered Tibetan civilization; and to raise support for the Tibetan refugee community in India.

The performance features multi-phonic singing, wherein the monks simultaneously intone three notes of a chord. The Drepung Loseling monks are particularly renowned for this unique singing. 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 exotic splendor of the performance.

The monks of the Drepung Loseling monastery have a very distinguished modern-day musical history. On past tours they have performed with Kitaro, Paul Simon, Philip Glass, Edie Brickell, Natalie Merchant, Patty Smith, the Beastie Boys and the Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart, to name a few.

In addition, two of their recordings achieved top-10 listings on the New Age 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 them with the Abbey of Gethsemani Schola in an encounter of Gregorian chant with Tibetan multi-phonic singing.

Additionally, 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 in Lincoln Center in the live representation of his award-winning score to the Martin Scorsese film Kundun (Disney).

In response to the Sept. 11 tragedies, they had the honor of creating special mandalas and leading prayer ceremonies and meditations in New York and Washington. Organized in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution, these events were dedicated to the healing and protection of America.

Cost for the performance is $12.50, $15.50 and $17.50 depending on seating area. For further information call the Meadows Museum of Art at Centenary College at 318-869-5040 or the Strand Theatre at 318-226-1481.

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The Meadows Museum of Art is located on the campus of Centenary College of Louisiana at 2911 Centenary Blvd. in Shreveport. The Museum is open from noon to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; from noon to 5 p.m. on Thursday; and from 1 to 4 p.m. on weekends. The Museum is closed on Monday. Museum admission is free. To receive an Exhibition and Program Guide, call the Museum at 318-869-5040. To schedule a group tour, call the Museum Education Department at 318-841-7271.

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