Dear Friends:

Please help us make a DVD for Drepung Gomang Monastery!

Currently, filmmakers Ronny and Rebecca Novick of award winning Ten Directions Productions are in the process of editing the DVD of 'Call & Response'’ a benefit concert featuring the Drepung Gomang monks on the 2003/2004 US tour and alumni and faculty members of the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles.

The concert took place on February 27th, 2004 in the brand new state of the art theater - REDCAT (Roy & Edna Disney Cal Arts Theater) - in downtown Los Angeles to a sold out crowd.  It was presented by the Cal Arts school of music in association with Vocal Lounge, the producing arm of alumnus Julie Adler.  All proceeds went to benefit Drepung Gomang monastery.

'Call & Response' was a unique occasion to bring together the ancient chanting of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition juxtaposed with new Western music compositions created specifically for and inspired by this exciting event.    Julie Adler called upon her colleagues and herself to come up with offerings that investigate the Buddhist philosophy by choosing a specific Tibetan chant to respond to; these composers are either Buddhists themselves or very keen on the subject matter.  For the Westerner, questions she hoped would arise were:

• How does one make a work for the sake of all sentient beings?
• Where does one's motivation lie?
• Is the composer just drawn to the sound scape within the tradition or something more?

The concert was fully documented and on DVD, it promises to be a wonderful fund-raising as well as promotional tool for Drepung Gomang monastery and Tibetan arts and culture.  It will be available for purchase on the official Drepung Gomang website as well as on the monks’ future tours.  All proceeds from the sale of the DVD will go directly to the monastery.

BUT WE NEED YOUR HELP TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN!  Please support this project by donating whatever you can to help us with post-production.    With your donation, you will get a copy of the DVD when it is done as well as your name printed in the DVD inlay.  We hope to have the DVD out by late fall.

Donations/checks should be written to "Friends of Drepung Gomang Monastery" and are tax deductible.  Also, everyone who donates will be credited in the DVD itself as well as on the jacket.

Please send your donation to this address:
 

Thank you so much for your support and may all beings benefit and find true happiness.

With much kindness,
Julie Adler