UF’s Phillips Center features Gyuto Monks Tibetan Tantric Choir

February 1, 2007

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Gyuto Monks Tibetan Tantric Choir will perform at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 13, at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts on the University of Florida campus.

The Gyuto Monks Tibetan Tantric Choir has been chanting since the 15th century. The group’s multitonal style, where one monk sings not just a single note but an entire chord, so impressed Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart that he worked to bring the group to the United States. The monks’ first U.S. trip in 1988 resulted in a sold out, 22-city tour, which culminated with a performance before 5,000 people at New York’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine. This performance was recorded and later broadcast on the Discovery Channel.

The geography of Tibet –– which is on a large plateau in one of the highest regions in the world –– keeps it isolated from many of its surrounding neighbors. This isolation allowed the liturgical arts of Tibetan Buddhism to develop over many centuries without influence from the outside world. The mountainous region provided such a natural barrier that many varied Buddhist traditions of India have been preserved only in Tibet, making them a cultural treasure of mankind.

The choir is made up of monks from the Gyuto Tantric University, which was founded in 1474. For nearly 500 years this university was based at the National Cathedral in Lhasa and had 900 monks in residence at a time. In 1959, the Gyuto monks joined the Dalai Lama in exile and now make their home at a monastery near Bomdi-La, India.

In addition to the group’s own two recordings produced by Hart, the music of the Gyuto Monks is featured on the soundtracks for the films “Kundun” and “Seven Years in Tibet.”

Tickets are available by calling the Phillips Center Box Office at (352) 392-ARTS (2787) or (800) 905-ARTS (toll-free within Florida) or by calling Ticketmaster at (904) 353-3309. Orders may be faxed to (352) 846-1562. Tickets are also available at the Phillips Center Box Office, University Box Office at the University of Florida Reitz Student Union and all Ticketmaster outlets; and on the Web at www.ticketmaster.com.

The Phillips Center Box Office is open from noon to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and two hours before performances.