Tenzin Choegyal was born in Tibet to a nomadic family, escaped the Chinese occupation in the early 70s and grew up in a Tibetan refugee community in India. There, where the Dalai Lama actively encourages his people to preserve their culture, Tenzin first explored his musical talents. Accompanying himself on dranyen (Tibetan lute), Tenzin creates new songs that draw on his past and his travels around the world. Together with pianist Jesse Paris Smith, Tenzin Choegyal performs in the WNYC studio, and talks with David Garland about his life and thoughts, and the meaning of his songs.

This program was recorded before the April 25th earthquakes that affected Nepal, Tibet, and elsewhere. On April 28th Tenzin wrote on his Facebook page, "I have been getting loads of mail about how my friends in art and music world could be of support for Nepal and beyond. Small thing that you could do is a Home Concert 'for Nepal with love' Home Concert or a Dinner and (funds raised) from that could be directed through a reliable Org. Small yet effective way, just a gathering of your friends. Strong believer of 'from little things big things grow.'"

Tenzin Choegyal performs on WNYC's Spinning On Air

Tenzin Choegyal's Heart Strings video