Monks from Tibet’s legendary Drepung Loseling monastery will present The Mystical Arts of Tibet: Sacred Music, Sacred Dance at Washington University in St. Louis’ Edison Theatre April 29 and 30.
The concert — presented by the Edison Theatre OVATIONS! Series — will offer a rare opportunity to experience temple music and dance from one of the world’s most ancient sacred traditions, as performed by monks for whom these traditions remain a way of life.
Sacred Music, Sacred Dance begins at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 29 and 30. Tickets are $28; $24 seniors and Washington University faculty and staff; and $18 for students and children.
In addition, the monks will present an all-ages matinee as part of the ovations! for young people series at 11 a.m. Saturday. Tickets are $7.
Edison Theatre is located in the Mallinckrodt Student Center, 6445 Forsyth Blvd. Tickets are available at the Edison Theatre Box Office and through all MetroTix outlets. For more information, call (314) 935-6543.
Sacred Music, Sacred Dance
First launched in 1988, Sacred Music, Sacred Dance is co-sponsored by Richard Gere Productions, Inc. with the blessings of the Dalai Lama. It features a dozen monks performing nine pieces believed to generate energies conducive to inner peace and world healing.
The performance highlights multiphonic singing, in which the monks simultaneously intone three notes of a chord, as well as traditional Tibetan instruments such as 10-foot long dungchen trumpets, drums, bells, cymbals and gyaling horns. Rich brocade costumes and masked dances, such as the Dance of the Sacred Snow Lion, add to the splendor.
The Drepung Loseling monks have performed at festivals, universities and auditoriums around the country, including such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall, the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and the 1996 Centennial Olympics in Atlanta. The have performed with artists such as Paul Simon, Sheryl Crow, Michael Stipe, Patti Smith, Natalie Merchant and the Beastie Boys, as well as in the premiere live presentation of Philip Glass’ Academy Award-nominated score for Martin Scorsese’s film Kundun (1997).
The Drepung Loseling monks also are featured on the Golden Globe-nominated soundtrack for Seven Years in Tibet (1997), starring Brad Pitt, as well as in their own recordings, the best-selling Sacred Tibetan Temple Music (1988) and Sacred Music, Sacred Dance (1993).
Mandala Sand Painting
In conjunction with the performances, the monks will be in residence at the Saint Louis Art Museum (SLAM) April 26 to May 1 for an exhibition/demonstration of traditional Tantric dul-tson-kyil-khor, or painting with colored sand. (The term literally translates as “mandala of colored powder.”)
Mandala Sand Painting: The Architecture of Enlightenment opens with a ceremony at noon Tuesday, April 26, and continues daily through Saturday, April 30. A closing ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 1. For more information about the exhibition, call SLAM at (314) 721-0072.
Drepung Loseling Monastary
The Drepung Loseling Monastery was established near Lhasa, Tibet, in 1416 and was especially close to the Dalai Lama incarnations: the Second Dalai Lama made his residence there in 1494, and subsequent incarnations maintained the link.
In 1959, following the invasion of Tibet, the monks re-established the monastery in Karnataka State, South India. In 1991, they also established a North American seat, the Drepung Loseling Institute, now affiliated with Emory University in Atlanta.
|
WHO: Washington University’s Edison Theatre WHAT: The Mystical Arts of Tibet: Sacred Music, Sacred Dance WHEN: OVATIONS!: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 29 and 30; ovations! for young people: 11 a.m. Saturday, April 30 WHERE: Edison Theatre, Washington University, Mallinckrodt Student Center, 6445 Forsyth Blvd. TICKETS: OVATIONS!: $28; $24 for seniors and WUSTL faculty and staff; $18 for students. ovations! for young people: $7. Available through the Edison Theatre Box Office, (314) 935-6543, and all MetroTix outlets |
Edison Theatre
Edison Theatre’s OVATIONS! Series serves both Washington University and the St. Louis community by providing the highest caliber national and international artists in music, dance and theater, performing new works as well as innovative interpretations of classical material not otherwise seen in St. Louis. Focusing on presentations that are interdisciplinary, multicultural and/or experimental, Edison Theatre presents work intended to challenge, educate and inspire.
Edison Theatre programs are supported by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency, and the Regional Arts Commission, St. Louis.
