A True Tibetan Artist
Last year Amalia Rubin was awarded the prize for Best International Artist for Tibet at the Tibetan Music Awards in India for her newly-released album, Mountains and Deserts, and she has played Tibetan concerts in the US, India, China and Tibet, and has even performed for the Dalai Lama himself.
Rubin sings in Tibetan, and plays Dramnyen, a seven-stringed traditional Tibetan lute-like instrument.
Having grown up living next door to a local Tibetan Buddhist centre in upstate New York, Rubin has always been influenced very strongly by Buddhism and Tibetan culture. As a child there was a constant stream of Tibetans and Buddhist monks going by her house, and she made several friends.
Rubin's Background
The influence of the neighbourhood Buddhists made a deep impression on Rubin, though it wasn't until she was about thirteen that she began to understand the political situation in Tibet. It was then that she joined the political action group, Students for a Free Tibet.
Becoming active in Students for a Free Tibet, Rubin eventually came to chair her high school's chapter of the group, and through that made many friends with Tibetans her own age.
While doing an internship at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City, Rubin was first exposed to Tibetan music at parties. It was a 'love at first sound' experience, and she quickly learned to sing a few Tibetan songs.
Rubin's father is a musician who sings and plays many instruments, so Amalia grew up in a home where music was played constantly. Her father and grandmother encouraged her to learn music and take singing lessons, so it was natural for her to be influenced by the Tibetan music she was exposed to. However, it wasn't for another year until Rubin first picked up a Dramnyen and started playing.
A fast learner, Rubin borrowed a friend's Dramnyen and practiced obsessively, learning mostly from watching videos. Rubin says Dramnyen is a very simple instrument as there are no chords to learn, though she is still learning more all the time. It took her only about four months from first picking up a Dramnyen to being able to play proficiently enough to perform!
In 2005 Rubin spent two months in an intensive language training course to learn the Tibetan language, and even played her first live performance on the Dramnyen in late 2005.
Her Musical Career
Following her first rough performance, Rubin's music career really took of, with performances all around her home state as well as in other states and Canada. Rubin released her first CD, Mountains and Deserts (Kangri dang Chethang) in September 2006, the release of which coincided with a visit to the University of His Holiness the Dalai Lama; the spiritual leader-in-exile of the Tibetan people.
Rubin began learning mandolin, beginning on her great-grandfather's 100 year old instrument. Mandolin is commonly used in Amdo Tibetan folk music, as well as in Sephardic Jewish folk music.
In 2007, Rubin travelled to India where she bought her own Dramnyen and Mandolin, and continued her intensive studies in Tibetan language and music. Rubin also recorded her second album, Leaving Home (Phayul Shak Ne Dro) in Nepal.
Based at the University of Buffalo, where she studies Asian languages and culture, Rubin spends a lot of time taking part in Tibetan events and campaigns, promoting awareness of Buddhism and the plight of the Tibetan people.
The Albums
Mountains and Deserts, the album that won the Best International Artist for Tibet at the Tibetan Music Awards is a collection of covers of Tibetan folk songs with strong cultural and political themes, as well as Tibetan classical music. The album has become a big hit amongst Tibetans, both in Tibet and in Tibetan communities in exile around the world.
The album Leaving Home is a compilation of covers of more modern Tibetan songs and some original compositions as well as some traditional Jewish melodies, and has also been nominated for an award in the coming Tibetan Music Awards.
Leaving Home is an album that has a lot of different influences that blend together well, with some old songs and some new compositions, with a mix of traditional and electronic instruments. Rubin plays combinations of Dramnyen, mandolin and piwang, which gives a very traditional feel to the music, even on the modern compositions.
The songs Rubin performs are a mix of traditional Tibetan songs, mostly from the Ando region, and also some old songs with new tunes that she has composed. She also plays songs that are collaborations with Tibetan friends; Rubin composing the music and her friends writing the lyrics. Rubin says she can't write Tibetan songs herself as she doesn't know enough about traditional poetry, though this may change in the future.
A strong supporter of copyrights, Rubin only performs covers of modern Tibetan songs if she can get permission from the songwriters, and she has a policy of not recording other's songs on her CDs. Rubin's philosophy is that if one wants to hear a song, then buy the album of the songwriter.
The Tibetan people Rubin plays for are often surprised to see a westerner get up on stage and play traditional instruments, as well as singing in their language, but Rubin is very well received, and has built up a small following of Buddhist fans. Even more surprising is that she also plays traditional Eastern European Jewish folk songs on the Dramnyen.
Combining Jewish And Tibetan Music
Rubin loves expressing her Jewish heritage through music; she reportedly commented that the emotional, haunting quality of Yiddish music is beautiful, whether it evokes joy or sadness. There is a strong similarity with the Tibetan Buddhist music. Both styles can make people laugh and clap, or bring them to tears.
According to Rubin, it was natural for her to want to combine her Jewish heritage with her love of Tibetan music. Rubin sees that there is a strong similarity between Jewish and Tibetan Buddhist culture; both have strong family values such as taking care of one's parents, and both people have faced similar issues with living under persecution and living in exile.
Most of all, Rubin says she plays Tibetan music just to have fun, and to spread her love of Tibetan music around the world, especially amongst young Tibetans.