MusicTibet.com
News :: 2007
Soname: Singing for Charity!
Soname in McLeod Ganj
MCLEOD GANJ, India, 21 May 2007 — The fine line between her passion for singing and charity is very difficult to draw for Sonam (spelled Soname) Yangchen. She lives in London, doing concerts for charities, writing books and speaking about Tibet.
She is not a trained singer, yet is a gifted singer, discovered after singing a few songs at a friend's wedding party in 1998.
As much as she is devoted to singing, charity is as much on her mind because of her own unhappy childhood experiences.
She helped settle an Indian woman in Delhi with her husband, donating 500 Pound Sterling to cover her dowry. The couple now has a son and they run a chai shop and sell samosa (potato stuffed Indian spicy snack).
Currently she is giving 2000 rupees to a Tibetan youth in Delhi to study. She has saved 15,000 rupees to be given to a beggar in Bodh Gaya to start a new business. She has plans to help the Tibetan Homes Foundation, Mussoorie, in India.
As if these are not enough charity works, she is actively involved in the Red Lotus, a charity that is building a hospital to provide medical care for the needy people in and around Dharamshala, India. The project, initiated by Dr Hedda and Dr Claus Blumenroth from Germany, is estimated to cost about 600,000 US dollars.
She has performed in concerts to raise funds for the Red Cross, Iraq war victims, Tibet Relief Fund, etc.
Soname was born in Tibet, and believes it was in 1973. Like other children growing up under the Chinese occupation, her early life was depressing. She escaped in 1989, trekking for six weeks across the Himalayas to Nepal to come to India. There she became involved with a man and had a baby. Later he left her, and she had to give up her daughter.
After six years of life in exile in India, a marriage to a Briton brought her to Brighton, England, where she lives today.
Singing at a wedding party in 1998, was a turning point for her, leading her to adopt her new career, making herself a unique artiste in the UK. Her style falls into the World Music genre, but she calls it "Tibetan mountain songs". She also writes, and has a book Child of Tibet to her credit
She released her debut album "Unforgettable Land" in 2006.
Her latest composition is coming out in September. Guitar, tabla, didgeridoo, and bulgaria clenet (a kind of flute) are accompanying her voice.