MUSIC OF BHUTAN
RESEARCH CENTER

BHUTAN
Advisory Board

Kheng Sonam Dorji, Director of Expeditions
Sonam Dorji is a master musician, vocalist, and composer who plays several instruments native to Bhutan and India. Originally from the village of Kaktong, Zhemgang District, Sonam moved to Thimphu as a child and studied drangyen under the primary elders of Bhutanese folk tradition, including Aku Tongmi. At 15 he began composing his own songs and he soon gained fame on national radio. After high school he spent 10 years in India intensively studying Indian music and earned a master’s degree. He has also released a string of hit rigsar (Bhutanese pop) albums and composed the first-ever nationally broadcast song in Khengpa, his native language, which earned him the name “Kheng” Sonam Dorji. International audiences know Sonam through his soundtrack contributions to the acclaimed Bhutanese film, Travellers and Magicians (2004) and his appearances at the Smithsonian’s Festival of American Folklife (2008). Sonam’s ultimate goals are to document the music of Bhutan and to preserve and nourish its indigenous musical culture.

Ugen Choden
Program Director, Bhutan Foundation, Thimphu

Ap Dengo
Director, Phuntsho Drayang Performing Arts Troop, Paro

Ap Tsheten Dorji
Composer, Thimphu

Rinzin Penjore
Director, Royal Academy of Performing Arts, Ministry of Home & Cultural Affairs, Thimphu

Atta Yeshi
Sound Engineer and Musician

The MBRC is also grateful to Dasho Tsheten for music research assistance


U.S.
Board of Directors

Jane Hancock, President is a credentialed educator and photographer (B.A.). She has taught in the Scotts Valley, CA School District for 20 years and is the founder and director of the Bach Academy, a summer classical music program for children that is affiliated with the renowned Carmel Bach Festival. Ms. Hancock was the photographer on two acclaimed early American Music research/recording projects and has also worked in Africa. Along with Dr. Herman (below), she participated in MBRC's first expedition to Sengbji and co-produced Am Nimchu Pem's CD.

Janet Herman, Treasurer has a Ph.D. in Folklore/Ethnomusicology (UCLA) and over fifteen years experience with non-profit organizations in various capacities. She served as an oral historian at the Cape Breton Music Centre Archives, Nova Scotia (2006 special project) and as lead ethnomusicologist and co-producer for the CD field recording In Sweetest Union Join (Henagar, Alabama, 2000), among other projects. Dr. Herman is a program director for Community Music School of Santa Cruz and formerly was program manager of Arts in Corrections for the William James Association, overseeing artist contracts for 16 California state prisons.

Shelley Phillips, Secretary received her Masters of Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She is the founder and director of the Community Music School of Santa Cruz, a non-profit organization offering music lessons and workshops in folk and conservatory traditions. Under her direction, the School also holds summer music camps for children and teens, produces an annual concert series, and places donated instruments with low-income families. Ms. Phillips is a member of the Anjali Quartet and the Coulter/Phillips Ensemble, touring in Asia, Europe and North America.