By PAUL NELSON, Staff writer
Amalia Rubin has never visited the Asian country, but her music is a hit in oppressed nation
NISKAYUNA — Amalia Rubin is big in Tibet.
The 20-year-old college junior from Niskayuna captured Best International Artist for Tibet at the Tibetan Music Awards in India for her independently released debut album of Tibetan folk songs.
The CD, entitled “Mountain and Deserts,” is a cover of indigenous classical and folk music.
“A lot of it is political, and I love Tibetan culture, and Tibetan culture is under such a threat,” said Rubin, an Asian studies major at the University at Buffalo.
Rubin has never visited Tibet, but she’s planning a trip there this winter. The closest she has gotten is a Tibetan refugee camp in northern India.
Rubin is eager to visit the mountainous region, even though she expects her socially conscious music might ruffle feathers.
Between selling her music at her performances and Tibetan-themed events, Rubin managed to sell about 200 CDs and turned a profit.
Rubin plays the dranyen, a small stringed instrument that resembles a lute. She became interested in all things Tibetan through one of her neighbors who ran a local Buddhist temple.
What began as a hobby triggered serious political passion for drawing attention to the plight of the Tibetan people, who want independence from Chinese occupation.
Her favorite song from the first CD is “The White Crane.”
She said the 300-year-old lyrics are a prophecy from the sixth Dalai Lama about his reincarnation before he was assassinated. According to the English translation, the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation was found in Tibet’s Lithang region.
The lyrics read in part:
“White Crane, lend me the strength of your wings, I will not fly far. I will go to Lithang and from there I shall return.”
In June, she released a second CD titled “Leaving Home” in Nepal and India.
This musical offering features more modern and some original compositions plus a couple of Jewish tunes for good measure, she said.
Paul Nelson can be reached at 454-5347 or by e-mail at pnelson@timesunion.com
