Thupten Tenzin
Tibetan
Thupten's teacher at the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts was an old master musician named Lhutse who had trained with a folk opera group in Lhasa. Because he was learning many different instruments, songs, and dances, Thupten's instruction and practice lasted from early morning until evening. He became proficient in five instruments important in secular Tibetan music: damyen, a six-stringed lute which is often depicted in Buddhist teachings and paintings as a symbol of the harmony of existence, also appearing as a magical instrument in folk tales; gyumang, a type of zither played with a small hammer; piwang, a two-stringed fiddle in both large and small sizes, and bamboo flute.
These instruments often provide solo or ensemble accompaniment for folk dances which differ from region to region in Tibet. Thupten's repertoire included a secular, quite rigorous classical music which he can also compose. After moving to Norwalk in 1993 he formed a folk dance group with other Connecticut Tibetans, performing around New England for two years. Thupten's two daughters joined him from India in 1996. He passed away in the late 1990s.
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