Love,
Noam
Sunday, February 28, 2010
A BIG THANK YOU FROM KILU MUSIC SCHOOL!!!
Paro and Taktsang Monastery (Tiger's Nest) – January 30 and 31, 2010
We took off to Paro Saturday afternoon. Tshering Dorji, Sherab, Kencho and Phuntsok, the five of us in Kencho’s car. Car full to the brim with our “stuffs” (as Bhutanese say, adding an unnecessary “s” to many words) and the mood quite upbeat in the car as we headed out of Thimphu towards Semtokha and beyond.
I had reflected on the fact that it had been nearly three months since I had left Thimphu, basically since returning in early November from Bumthang, I had stayed inside the “walls” of Thimphu town. Interesting to reflect on such a prolonged period without any geographical movement, and without really much of a desire or need to do so.
When we arrived in Paro we stopped in town to purchase some groceries for our overnight stay at Drugyel village. Basically, we would be staying the night at this villagers house, enjoying hot stone baths and sleeping in a shack. But, in order to be fed, we would need to bring groceries for our host to cook for us. We bought vegetables of all kinds, and snacks, as well as ingredients for tea.
Paro Valley
Before we would head for our hot stone bath and our night in the village the boys wanted to take me and go visit two very historic and important temples in Paro valley. The first one we visited is the Dungtse Lhakang. (Pg. 138 in Pommaret's book on Bhutan for more info). This temple is unique because it is one of the onlychorten shaped temples in Bhutan. I found the paintings on the walls of this temple which was dark inside and required a torch to be viewed, I found these paintings to be most beautiful and elaborate and abundant paintings that I have seen collected together inside of one temple so far. I really would like to come back and see this temple again.
Dungtse Lhakang
From there we went to visit Kyichu Lhakhang (more info on pg. 131 of Pommaret). This is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Bhutan. It supposedely dates back to the 7th century, even before Guru Rinpoche’s time and was said to be built by the Tibetan Buddhist king, Songtsen Gampo. This is where Dilgo Kheyntse Rinpoche spent a good deal of his time teaching, and living, and he is honored in this temple.
The road leading down to the village looked treacherous, with huge rocks, it looked quite inhospitable for any car, and so instead, we entered the well known Drugyel high school (where Sherab had done his studies) and parked the car down in the football field, as it was the weekend. Good thing, both Tshering and Sherab lived in Paro a good deal and knew the town.
So we made our way towards our “hotel” for the night, walking for about ten minutes, carrying our sleeping bags, groceries and bags, crossing a very small stream and eventually reaching our destination. A big brick house and behind it, beyond loads of building supplies, a rather ugly looking shack. That’s where we would be spending our night. The shack divided into two. One side was the room where we would sleep and eat, wooden shims covering the ground, with sheets/embroidered cloths creating a sepration and the other side where two wooden baths were built into the ground, steam already rising from them. In the left hand corner of this second part of the shack, was a big tub full of cold water and two empty buckets. This water could be used to help modify the temperature in the baths. In front of this open hot stone bath section of the shack was a bon fire going out in the open, with many big sized stones being heated and attended to by a young boy of maybe 11 or 12.
Kencho and Phuntsok resting in our "hotel"...
In front of us the open sky, with the silhouettes of the surrounding mountains gradually becoming more clear as the clouds dispersed and the full moon appeared from within the clouds to shine ever so brightly in the sky.
We got settled, put our bags down and right into the baths we went. There were five of us and only two baths, it was even questionable if two could fit in one of the baths, as it was smaller. So, who wanted to go first? Three people could go in at once. Phuntsok, Tshering and myself agreed to go in first. So in we went into the warm and delightful water!!! I had the smaller tub all to myself for a while, and it was wonderful.
Relaxin'...
The way these hot stone baths work, is the stones are being heated on the fire outside, and when we need to heat the water inside the bath, the young man (boy) who was attending would bring a stone and drop it into our bath. It would make a nice splashing sound of the heat rippling through the water, and then in a matter of seconds or a minute or two, the water in the entire tub would be heated. The bigger the rock the more dramatic the heatwave would be. A few times, with really big rocks, the heat that would take over the water was so significant that I had to come out of the water and gradually come back in as it cooled off a little bit.
After a couple of hours of bathing in and out, it was time for some dinner. This was my first time in Bhutan really eating the way you eat in the village. We were served rice, ema datsi, a kind of cauliflower sabji and eggs I believe. No silverware, and so it was all hands. And it was great fun rolling the rice into a ball (or at least trying) and grabbing some of the veggies and eating. By the end of it, my hands were so oily. I think it’s better to keep the rice away from the curry, and dry, so that you can roll it into a ball and then get the veggies. My hands were so oily and messy by the end of it. What fun!!!
I should mention that throughout the weekend, during the drives, during the bathing, during the hike up to taktsang singing was a very main component of the experience. Every so often Tshering would burst out in a Bhutanese folk song, and the rest would join singing from the bottom of their throats, Phuntsok would sing a beatles song, and from time to time even Sherab and Kencho would beging singing. They asked me to teach them an Israeli folk song, and I indulged for a little while.
After dinner, we returned for some more bathing and then it was time to get ready for bed. Sherab and I pitched up the tent, and after a little bit of difficulty we managed to figure it out. We had brought sleeping bags, and we made our way into the tent, got ourselves as warm and cozy as possible, and got ready to sleep. Eventually, the rest of the group got in, one by one, and thus we were quite a cozy group of five in the tent, pretty much, laying there shoulder to shoulder. The ground was uneven, with the wooden shims, and the noise of the water running into the tub, and the host and the young man cleaning the baths, and dealing with everything outside lasted for about a half an hour. At first, I couldn’t stop laughing at the situation, all five of us, shoulder to shoulder in this tent, and then eventually I began to close my eyes and tuck myself deeply inside my sleeping bag. It was warm and cozy enough and once I fell asleep I slept decently well.
The following morning, Kencho and I were the last ones to stay inside the tent, and while the rest of the guys were already up, I decided to stay in the warm bag as much as I could. Eventually when we heard that tea was being served, we got ourselves up and made our way outside of the moist tent. We had tea, warmed ourselves up by the fire, and enjoyed the crisp blue sky, that was becoming ever more clear with every passing minute. Over to the north of us I could see for the first time in my life the peak of Mt. Jumalhari covered with a thick blanket of white, white snow.
Beautiful mountains north, and eventually even the sun came out from the clouds and starting to heat our backs as we sat by the fire, trying to avoid the thick smoke from entering our eyes. Eventually breakfast was served, not really that different from dinner: red rice, kewa datsi and radish with red chilis. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are pretty much the same here, and people eat very big breakfasts indeed. Considering the hike that awaited us, on this day I didn’t mind eating a good deal in the morning, as I didn’t know what to expect in terms of food the rest of the day.
Sherab by the bon fire in the morning...
Left to right: Tshering Dorji, me, Phuntsok, Sherab (drying underwear) and our host.
We got all of our stuff together, and made our way towards the car, which remained parked in the football field of Drugyel high school, and from there we drove to the base of Taktsang monastery. We could see Taktsang very shortly after we got back on the main road from the high school parking lot and it was high up above. We would have to climb up THERE!
So, we parked the car, fed some rice to the dogs that were hanging around and looked starved and began our hike up towards Taktsang Pelphug (Pg. 136 in Pommaret) or “Tiger’s Nest”. From the base one looks up towards the monastery tucked into the rock face, and it seems truly impossible to imagine that there is a path that somehow leads to it. In fact, all along the way, it just doesn’t seem like there is a way to get there, unless you climb the cliff, and only at the last minute when you start the descent from the adjacent mountain, do you see the stairs and the path that will lead you to the monastery.
Sherab in his colorful Gho getting ready for the hike. When visiting Temples or Dzongs, Bhutanese must always wear their traditional clothes. Sherab elected to also hike all the way up in his Gho, some of the other guys, changed before we entered Taktsang.
The guys elected to take the “short cut”, which is the much more steep and direct climb up the mountain towards the monastery. The way to reach Taktsang is by way of climbing an adjacent mountain, eventually reaching even higher then Taktsang and then descending, crossing a short bridge and walking up from the side of the cliff towards the monastery. It was a rigorous climb, and I was tired and out of breath easily, my legs hurting from the climb, but it was not more challenging than the hike I did with Pia in Bumthang, and in fact it was less straining as the climb was shorter (twice as short in fact).
Tea break...
The view on our way up...
About half way there, you reach the “cafeteria” which is a glorious vista point towards the monastery, still below it, looking straight across, it is quite something to behold. The majestic beauty of this nestled monastery is breathtaking indeed. No wonder it is so famous.
Not long after the "cafeteria", we stopped again on a big boulder for a tea break. It appears when Bhutanese go on hikes, even rigorous ones they take a packed lunch (rice and curry of sorts) in a special container that both keeps it warm and has different compartments in it, along with a big flask of tea which keeps it warm. It is interesting to compare this to Western hikers which will likely only take water, snacks/power bars, and sandwiches to keep their load light. Here, one of us (me most of the way up) had to carry the full flask of tea and someone else had to have the food container in their bag. After tea, we basked in the sun on the big boulder for a few minutes and then we resumed our climb.
So we continued our way up, with beautiful views of Taktsang, eventually reaching a point where we were standing higher on our mountain than Taktsang, from there we began to descend towards the temple. Passing along several holy streams. We stopped at the Meditation hall, where Sherab’s brother was there for a three year retreat (or is it three months), to drop off various food supplies that we had carried all the way up. We stayed there for only a few minutes and we made our way towards Taktsang.
Down we went on the stairs, and from there we crossed the bridge where the waterfall was and up we went the final patch of stairs before reaching Taktsang itself. By the time we reached it was past 1:00pm and the temple was closed for lunch!!! So we too decided we would have lunch. We went towards one end of the cliff where there was a bench and had our prepared lunch with tea. I guess it pays off to carry that warm lunch up the mountain as it was quite wonderful to eat after all of that exertion.
After 2:00pm the temple re-opened and we started to go visit all the different altar rooms. The first place we went was the holiest spot. But the actual cave where the room is, is only opened one day out of the year, so of course we couldn’t enter. In this room (cave) apparently not only Guru Rinpoche meditated but also Trungpa Rinpoche and DJKR and many other greats. Taktsang I found out had burnt down in 1998 and most everything burnt down except this main holiest of rooms and the statues and relics in, were not burnt thankfully. So, having been renovated all of the many other important altar rooms with all of the different deities to me were not as impressive as older temples that I’ve seen, including the ones I had seen the previous day.
After spending a while going to the many different altar rooms, the return down didn’t take nearly as long as the climb up, and aside from almost spraining my ankle pretty bad, the way down was uneventful. We reached back to Thimphu late that night after a wonderful dinner at Tshering’s mother’s house, and a night of conversation with a friend of the guys’ from Paro.
~~~~~~~~~
Love,
Noam
Life in Thimphu: November & December in Photos
Pia and Anne, a cake and lots of Danish flags, celebrating Anne's birthday!
With friends at Anne's party...
One of the few recording studios in Bhutan. We came here to record the soundtrack that I composed and arranged for Bhutanese filmmaker's Dechen Roder short film "Article 13". Check out Dechen's work and her colleagues at Bhutan Backstage. 
Bhutanese filmmaker Tashi Gyletsen and Tashi Nencha studio's engineer. 
With Khenpo Rigzin, who had just returned from Singapore, and had spent time previously in Sonoma County...we have mutual friends who put us in touch. 
The lovely Chorten, on my way to town from home, this sight has become my daily pleasure. 
We awoke the morning of December 31st to a snow covered Thimphu! It was the first (and so far only) snow of the year. Very auspicious for the new year that was knocking on the door! These next three snow photos are courtesy of my friend, Dawa. 
Changangkha Lhakang (temple) covered in snow.
The view of Thimphu from Changangkha Lhakang. 
Himalayan Winter Glow!
Just beautiful!
KILU Bhutan Music School's Annual Concert
We are now already three weeks into the new school year (the academic year starts in February and ends in December here) but I hadn't updated you on how wonderfully the year ended at KILU!
On December 12th, we had a fabulous end of the year student concert. All of our students (who were in town) performed piano or sang, and sang collectively in choir. What was remarkable to behold was how well all the children did. Usually in such recitals, you’d at least expect a few train wrecks, some black outs or some real problems, but instead everyone, pretty much without exception performed so well, and did such a fabulous job. They all shined, really!
As for me, it was my first time in such a leadership role for such an event, not only directing things musically, but also logistically, conducting week long rehearsals, trying to keep 70 energetic children and youth focused, excited and motivated. After it all ended, I felt really proud and satisfied with myself and with the work that the entire staff at KILU did together. Combining passion, encouragement, discipline, high expectations and support, I feel good about how hard we worked, and how much we accomplished together. Most of all I was proud of the students. And the result is the great triumph that so many of these students experienced, small successes one by one. Hopefully, they too, inside, feel a sense of satisfaction and pride in how well they did.
Below you will find some photos from rehearsal week and from concert day!!! I don't have photos from the concert itself as I was busy running the show!!! But, thankfully we did have it videotaped, not only for our students and teachers to enjoy, but also for the school's archive.
Our older students listening to a fellow student perform during rehearsal week!
Dechen performing her piece in front of her peers in the larger room at KILU.
Ngawang doing the same...
Here is Tseten...
Anju and Madina practicing their piece, while I accompany them...students listening...
Thinley practicing his piece...
Getting ready for the concert in the Auditorium near our school, at Harmony: Centenary Village at the Department of Youth and Sports Complex. The three keyboards are set up (some songs had three children playing at the same time), and students practicing while Rinchen, Kilu's dedicated school administrator putting up our banner...
Empty auditorium on dress rehearsal day!
Concert day has arrived! Our students all looking fantastic in their Kiras and Ghos. Here our younger student choir is rehearsing one of their songs, with Masayuki (KILU's second teacher) accompanying them in the background.
After the concert, here I am with Ugyen and Dechen Wangmo.
Masayuki and I with several of our students after the concert was over!
That was the excitement at the end of 2009. In January 2010, while students were on holiday from their studies in their regular schools as well as KILU, we had (for the second year now) a special winter program. Three weeks of daily group classes teaching music fundamentals, singing, rhythm, reading and writing proficiency, as well as introduction to piano and recorder. This program is an opportunity for students who cannot attend regular session to get a taste of music studies at KILU. It was wonderful to meet lots of new children and youth and to have the opportunity to introduce music learning into their lives.
Now, three weeks into the new school year, with Masayuki retuning to Japan after two years of volunteer teaching at KILU (with the Japanese organization JICA), we have been joined by Saito, a new Japanese volunteer from JICA! We are busy as usual, with new and returning students and looking forward to another fantastic semester of work together!
Love,
Noam
Music of Bhutan Research Center: Jane and Janet from Santa Cruz visit Bhutan
In late November, Jane Hancock and Dr. Janet Herman the co-founders of the Music of Bhutan Research Center returned to Bhutan. Here in Bhutan, along with Kheng Sonam Dorji, one of the finest musicians in the nation, they continued their work of documenting, preserving adn promoting traditional Bhutanese music.
Jane and Janet were instrumental in bringing me to Bhutan, connecting me to KILU music school, exposing me to Bhutanese music, connecting me with Sonam Dorji, and giving me lots of information ahead of my trip about Bhutan. After meeting them in San Francisco and then later on in Santa Cruz, it was fantastic and quite special to meet them here in Thimphu.
Aside from doing their own research, I had Jane, Janet and Sonam come on my radio show "Deep Listening" to speak about the Music of Bhutan Research Center and to play various recordings from recent field recordings that have yet to be released on CD. It was a very special show.
Since Jane is a great elementary school teacher back in California, and in particular has wonderful interactive presentations about classical music and composers, I arranged for her to do a presentation on Handel for my students at KILU Music School. It was a great success!
Cheers,
Noam
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Article in Bhutan Times in late November!
Greetings!
It's time for a few blog updates. As I am way over due on updating it. In late november an interview with me was published in one of Bhutan's newspapers "Bhutan Times" under the title "For the love of music". I thought I would share with you the complete Q & A on which the article was based entirely.
Cheers,
Noam
1. As a music teacher , please describe your teaching method.
My main focus as a teacher is to instill a love and appreciation for music and music making with my students. To do that, of course we spend time focusing on learning the very important fundamentals of playing the instrument, as well as learning theory, and rhythm, but I also put great emphasis on creativity and music making. So we also spend a lot of time singing, and making up music by way of composing and improvising. Though, learning how to play music is a top priority, the highest priority during lessons with students is to have a good time, to make learning music a fun process and that's what I strive for in my teaching.
2. What is music to you ?
This is a tremendously challenging question to answer. I asked my older students this question earlier this semester. And I tell them that there is no right or wrong answer, because really there can be so many different definitions of music. The other day I was actually asked this question by a young Bhutanese man I met. This was my answer to him then. I said, whenever an individual or a group of people create sound with the intent of expressing something, then it is music. I then hit my umbrella against the electricity pole, and said: that was music. If a person honks their horn on their car with the intent of creating a sound, then it’s music, whereas if that same person is honking the horn because he is impatient with the car in front of him than it is not music. What if one day a composer here in Thimphu decided to compose a piece using all the cars in Thimpu, which on a given day will honk their horns at a specific time. Perhaps at 11:00am in Mothitang, 11:01 near the Dzong,11:02 near the Chorten. That is a piece of music.
3. How can music help children build their self esteem and confidence?
I believe as with any activity that a child takes on, when they see that they can do it well, when they get encouragement from their teachers and their parents, than their self-esteem and self-confidence grow. During our lessons, we learn how to play many songs on the piano and how to sing, and at the end of a semester when they see how much they've learned, that helps them feel good about all the progress they've made.
4. Why is music important to the young mind?
I think we spend so much time today in schools all over the world teaching lots of subjects that require memorization of definitions and terms, and dates and concepts. So much of the children's time in schools even from a young age is dedicated towards "doing well" in tests, so that they can have a career. But, music and the arts in general do something different, and something that I believe is really missing from schools in Bhutan and all over the world. Music is perhaps the only activity that perfectly integrates what's called left brain and right brain. That means it allows the child to engage both her analyitcal (left brain) and rational side as well as her emotional, intuitive side. Another way to put it is that it feeds both the brain and the heart simultaneously and in a totally interconnected way. We all know how we feel when we listen to music or sing a song, we feel great!!! Music also gives an outlet for children to express themselves through it. Also, it helps children develop discipline. When they have to practice every day, and see the progress that daily practice and discipline can bring that teaches them a very valuable lesson about commitment and dedication. Music is also a form of communication, and it feeds a person's entire being. It feeds the spirit, and the body with beauty and joy. This is really important.
5. Music helps develop kid's skills , did it help you when you were a kid?
Yes, of course. Music not only gave meaning and purpose to my life, it brought me tremendous joy and happiness. It gave me a way through which I could express all the different feelings that I had growing up that I had no words for. So, especially as a teenager music was so important for my well-being, because through it I could express sadness, anger, disappointment, joy, happiness, and feelings that we don't have words for. It helped me feel better about life, you see. And of course, I believe it helped me with discipline and dedication. It taught me how to communicate with others, and it brought to me my first spiritual experiences of interconnectedness with all beings, and with the universe at large. Really, music has been my greatest teacher in life!
6. What do you think about bhutanese young musicians?
I've met several Bhutanese musicians from all walks of life here in Bhutan. There is so much talent, musicality and a love of music here in Bhutan, both in terms of contemporary music and traditional music. But there are so few opportunities for musicians to perform and share their music with audiences here. I would love to see more venues open up for live concerts and shows. I would love to see cafes, clubs and restaurants that have live music as a part of their regular schedule. This would give the youth a place to perform and perfect their craft as musicians and will provide income for people who otherwise might not have a job. I think there is a lot of room for the music "industry" to grow here in Bhutan. This is an optimistic thing I think, because it means there's lots of potential for growth.
7. How important it is to have a music program in public schools?
It is absoloutley necessary. As I was saying earlier, our children are working, working, working from such a young age, and when they finish school they continue to work, work, work. We need to have subjects in school that are not just about career and jobs. We need subjects that are about fun, joyfulness, playfulness. But, the thing is, that actually, as I was saying earlier, music is not just for fun, it teaches our children valuable and important lessons and helps develop their emotional being in ways that all the other standard subjects cannot. Furthermore, I'd like to see Bhutanese traditional music taught in schools as a part of the regular curriculum, so that future generations will grow to appreciate and enjoy their own musical heritage.
8. Do you think music will help kids keep away from bad stuffs like drugs and alcohol?
I believe it can. Of course, there are no guarantees. But, as I wrote earlier, I believe that music can help give meaning and purpose to young peoples' lives. It can fulfill them, comfort them, and give an expression to their suffering. This can really help to steer youth away from trouble.
9. Describe your experience as a music teacher at KMS
My experience here has been fantastic. It has been a great delight to work with all of my students, and I say this wholeheartedly and without reservation. My students come to study with real joy and an eagerness to learn that is wonderful to experience. They are inquisitive, bright and quick to learn. They are respectful and kind and therefore are a pleasure to teach and be with. Kilu Music School provides a great work atmosphere, I enjoy my colleagues, Masayuki, Saito and Rinchen and we have a fantastic board of directors that is always helpful and supportive. We have a lot of fun together!
10. What motivated you to want to volunteer with children in bhutan ?
It was a great opportunity for me to come and share my love of music and music-making with the children and youth here in Bhutan. I wanted to be somewhere where my work could be helpful, where I was needed. My interest in buddhism and knowing how special Bhutan is made me want to come even more.
11. In your opinion, how do you think the children at KMS benefited by your presence?
Well, i've only been here for three months and will be here for at least nine more months, so there's lots of work still to be done. Really, you'd have to ask the children, but I hope that my enthusiasm, passion and love of music has rubbed off on them a little bit, that music lessons are fun and of course I can see with my eyes and ears that my students are making terrific progress in learning how to play the piano, read and write music.
12. I am sure you were able to teach lots of new things , in turn what have u learned from from them ?
Dzonghka! Bhutanese songs, and other music that my students like and enjoy. I am learning every day from my students, because as a teacher, every lesson I learn more about how to become a better teacher, how to better serve my students, how to better teach the subjects. In this way, my students are my teachers!
13 what was the most memorable advice a music teacher gave you?
My beloved teacher, W.A. Mathieu in California, taught me that of course learning and teaching music is about learning and teaching music itself, but more importantly, it's about getting to know yourself. As students, through music, we learn who we are, we can see our own feelings, insecurities, talents and this is music's greatest gift to us. If we are quiet enough, to listen to even the pure sound of one note, we will discover that it has the power to show us our own intrinsic beauty, the beauty of music and the whole world itself.
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