July 8, 2026

Coming Home: Tibetan Singer Yungchen Lhamo

La MaMa, in association with One Drop of Kindness Foundation

October 16-17

Event Tickets (Friday) Concert Tickets (Saturday) Become a Member

[Program tbd]

Runtime: 60 minutes

a two part celebration of tibetan culture and tradition through food, education, and a benefit concert

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Schedule*

Friday, October 16
Celebrating Compassion:
A Gathering of Tibetan Healing, Dance & Film

Spend an afternoon and evening exploring a multi-faceted approach to compassion through sacred art, meditation, Tibetan medicine, documentary film, food, stories, conversation, and dance. Watch Tibetan monks create the mantra of compassion in sand, discover simple practices for everyday life, and gather for a wonderful cross-cultural evening celebrating kindness in action.

*Schedule subject to change

Friday Program

Afternoon Session

3:00 pm onward Sacred Art in Action

Monks from New York’s Drepung Gomang Center create OM MANI PADME HUNG, the six-syllable mantra of compassion, in sand. The One Drop of Kindness welcome booth is also open.

3:30–4:00 pm Cultivating Compassion

A guided meditation on compassion with Geshe Ngawang Thugje.

4:15–4:45 pm Healing in Balance

A talk and Q&A on Tibetan medicine with Dr. Kunchok Tseten.

4:45 pm onward Private Tibetan Medicine Consultations

Private consultations with Dr. Kunchok Tseten.

5:00–6:30 pm Documentary Screening: Oracles & Demons of Ladakh

Documentary Film screening on Tibet’s Oracle tradition, featuring an interview with Professor Robert A.F. Thurman, followed by a Q&A with director Rob McGann.

6:30 pm onward Tibetan Food and Tea

Momos, khapse, and butter tea available for purchase.

7:30–8:30 pm Interactive Panel Discussion: When Compassion Comes Alive Heartwarming Stories and Conversations on Compassion in Everyday Life, guest speakers TBD 8:45–9:30 pm Closing Dance: Compassion in Motion and Community Time

A simple mindful Tibetan dance experience led by Yungchen Lhamo, offered as an audience lesson, followed by time to connect as a community.

Saturday, October 17
Coming Home:
Tibetan Singer Yungchen Lhamo Live in Concert

World-acclaimed award-winning Tibetan singer Yungchen Lhamo, this year’s recipient of the 2026 Distinguished Artist Award presented by the City of Kingston Arts Commission and the Department of Arts & Cultural Affairs, and of a Certificate of Recognition from New York State Senator Michelle Hinchey, will perform at La MaMa for the first time, accompanied by guitarist John Alevizakis.

“Yungchen sings like an unearthly creature. Her voice has the power to stop time and makes everything else in the world fall away. Her voice transports you.”
– Natalie Merchant

Credits

Yungchen Lhamo, Singer and Song Writer

The artist

Yungchen Lhamo
yungchenlhamo.com
@yungchenlhamo

bio

Since 1993 Yungchen has performed in over 80 countries on all five continents. Her first album Tibetan Prayer won the Australian Recording Industry Award for Best World Music Album.

Yungchen was then signed to Peter Gabriel’s Real World Records label on which she released three more albums: TibetTibet, Coming Home, and Ama, which featured songs with Annie Lennox and Joy Askew. Her fifth album, Tayatha, a collaborative work with Russian classical pianist Anton Batagov, was released by Cantaloupe Music, her sixth album Awakening by Six Degrees Records, and her seventh, One Drop of Kindness, was produced by John Alevizakis and released by Real World Records on CD and pink vinyl.

In addition to her ARIA Award in Australia and a UNESCO Music Prize, in Italy Yungchen was gifted the city of Silanus’s esteemed ‘Funtana Elighe’ award and was recognized by the province of Genoa as a ‘Messenger of Peace’ and given the title of ‘Ambassador of Culture’.

In France, she received the Golden Voice Award from the Dijon Bourjogue Festival, and in the UK, Yungchen’s One Drop of Kindness won Songlines’ Best Asia & Pacific Album Award.