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MUSICIANS AND CONTRIBUTORS FOR THIS ALBUM

1. Medicine Bear Reid, Composer – Apsaroke Nation, USA Medicine Bear is a former member of platinum-selling group Manheim Steamroller. He studied under Henry Mancini and played sessions with The Carpenters. Medicine Bear works on film & television scores and has shown excellence in all musical styles.

2. Michel Tyabji, Producer/Music Director/Arranger/Musician – India Michel was born in Mumbai, India. His father worked for UNICEF, so every four to six years the family moved to a different country. Michel schooled in Bhutan, India, Somalia, the UK & the USA. He is an all around musician, excelling on drum set & percussion. He has been performing, producing music & music/film festivals his entire working life.

Michel’s work producing albums for African greats Ndala Kasheba & Garikayi Tirikoti earned worldwide critical acclaim. Because of his work with this film & album, Michel now tours with Techung & Lhasa Spirits, performing on stages such as Carnegie Hall (NYC) & Svetlanov Hall (Moscow). Michel has derived unending happiness from working with all the great musicians featured on this album. He is deeply humbled to be a small part of getting the Dalai Lama’s message to the public. Tibetans call the Dalai Lama the “Wish Fulfilling Jewel”. For Michel the meaning of this continues to ring true.

Michel and Rosa, his wife and fellow producer, founded & run Limitless Sky Records. Rosa co-produced this album, helping to mix and master as well. They are currently based in Los Angeles.

3. Techung, Singer/Songwriter/Freedom fighter - Tibet Techung is a Tibetan performer living in exile in the USA. In addition to singing, he is virtuous on traditional Tibetan instruments and acoustic guitar. His music has been placed in many films and he has many published albums. Techung La is the foremost musical artist calling attention to the plight of Tibetans worldwide, giving a voice of defiance against endless despair and oppression brought to bare by the military occupation of Tibet.

4. Roop Verma, Performer/ Teacher/ Composer - India Roop Verma is a product of the Indian classical and sacred music traditions. He became a master of the healing sounds of the Indian Sitar. He tours internationally giving concerts, teaching and conducting healing music and meditation seminars. He has recorded numerous albums. Roop Ji has studied with maestros J.P. Kaushik, Ali Akbar Khan and Ravi Shankar. He has developed a pure expression of pure sound guded by spirt – Roop Ji’s has reached out to the souls of thousands of people.

5. The Yoginis - India Produced by Seattle based composer and pianist Yogi McCaw, the New Delhi based group Yoginis incorporate Jazz, Samba, Indian modes, and Afro-Cuban Rhythms to deliver an authentic fusion of cultures.

6. Heyraneh - Iran Introduced to Persian mystic poetry & music by her grandfather during childhood, Heyraneh studied music by learning Kamancheh from Morteza Varzi & Mohammad Reza Lotfi. She studied Radif on Setar with Mehdi Kamalian. In 1993, she took up Tanbur, the devotional string instrument of Yarsan people of Kermanshah in Iran. She studied this music consecutively with Keykhosro Pournazeri, Ali Akbar Moradi and Alireza Feyz Bashipoor. Since then, playing and chanting with tanbour has been part of her daily bhakti yoga practice. She never intended to publicly share her prayers until recently when Michel Tyabji asked that she record the songs she composed. She now lives in Los Angeles where she teaches Kundalini yoga & tanbour as meditation.

7. Lama Wangdu Rinpoche - Tibet Lama Tsering Wangdu Rinpoche was born in 1936. He began studying with his guru, Napdra Rinpoche, at age 8. When Rinpoche was in his early twenties, Napdra Rinpche sent him on a traditional Chöd retreat to 100 cremation grounds, where he had many profound experiences. Upon conclusion of the retreat, his teacher acknowledged his accomplishment in the practice and sent him on pilgrimage to Nepal, where he arrived in 1958. Rinpoche eventually settled in the Tibetan refugee camp in Jawalakehl, Nepal.

Rinpoche is a master of the practice of Chöd, an ancient tantric practice that teaches about the essence of sacrifice. Through Chöd, a practitioner learns to cut through attachment to appearances and come to understand the underlying unity of all things. In the hands of a practitioner such as Lama Wangdu, Chöd is also a powerful ritual for physical & mental healing & pacifying environmental disturbances. Rinpoche is believed to be the last person of his lineage to have completed the traditional training.

At the request of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Rinpoche opened a monastery near the Boudhanath Stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal, to help carry on the Chöd tradition. The monastery, Pal Gyi Dingri Langkor Jangsem Kunga Ling, was officially consecrated in November, 2004. The passages featured in this album were recorded by Michel & Rosa for The Movement Center and Rudra Press in Portland, Oregon.

8. Larry Mitchell, Guitar – USA Larry Mitchell is a solo artist, sideman, songwriter and music producer. As a solo artist Larry has released six guitar instrumental records, all with significant critical acclaim. He has been endorsed by Ibanez Guitars, D'Adarrio Strings, and DiMarzio Pickups since the mid '80s. As a sideman, he toured as guitarist for a wide range of artists including: Tracy Chapman, Billy Squier, and Ric Ocasek. Larry shares song-writing credits with Steve Vai and Thomas McRocklin on the "Bad for Good" Album, and with Brian Hard Groove (Public Enemy) and Bootsy Collins on the song "It is what it is". As Producer, Larry has won many production and engineering awards in various categories such as Adult contemporary, Pop, R&B, and Rap. Most recently he won a Grammy for Co-producing the album "Totemic Flute Chants" Johnny Whitehorse in the Native American category (2008).

9. Ralph “Kito” Rodriguez, Bass – USA Born and raised in New York City, Kito has been playing bass guitar and afro-latin percussion since his early teens. He has trained in classical, pop/rock/hip hop, latin, r&b, funk, soul, fusion jazz and in audio engineering. In addition to his own artistic endeavors, Kito currently performs on bass guitar with Techung&Lhasa Spirits and Alex Painter&The Joyful Process. He resides with his family in Los Angeles.

10. Heyment Ekbote, Tabla - India Heyment Ekbote is a master tabla player and teacher from South India. He now lives in Los Angeles.

Also featuring: Tyler Manzika, Basoon (track 3) & DJ EFO (track 4)