Joka,Paying Tribute to the Great Times with Exquisite Works

By staff report LI YUAN & LIMAO DROMA

JOKA was born in Damxung Grassland， 200 kilometers from Lhasa， the capital city of Tibet Autonomous Region. Visitors to Damxung can enjoy famous tourist destinations， such as the elegant peaks of the Nyenchen Tanglha Mountains and the charming and refreshing Namtso Lake.

The picturesque place had nourished the artistic talent of this child of a herdsman family. Joka， aged 54， is Chinas first postdoctoral fellow in music composition， and also the first master and doctor of Tibetan musicology in China. His doctoral dissertation “Research on the Structural Form of Traditional Tibetan Music” was awarded the 2007 National Excellent Doctoral Dissertation， the only doctoral dissertation in music composition that has been selected in the 100 Excellent Doctoral Dissertations in China so far. Now teaching at the School of Art of Tibet University， he has not only established a major in composition and theory of compositional techniques in Tibet， but also devoted himself to teaching and creation， adding unique Tibetan elements to the world music genre of symphony.

A Composer from the Grassland

Joka grew up in a new Tibet shortly after the democratic reform. Those moments of life in elementary school remain vividly fresh in his mind： sitting around a stove， he and his classmates wrote Tibetan letters on wooden boards； or sitting in the courtyard read- ing texts， such as the Tibetan version of Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong； and they also practiced singing revolutionary songs with their teacher… all of which constitute his unforgettable childhood memories.

While he was growing up， Joka met many people who had significant influence on his life. In order to create a local amateur performance team， Xiao Dorji， then Party chief of the Nyingzhong District （now Nyingzhong Township）， sent seven teenagers， including Joka， to study arts and literature at the Tibet Normal College. While studying at the college， Joka had great respect for Wang Lihua， a teacher from Shanghai who volunteered to teach in Tibet.“Ms. Wang taught us basics of music theory， sight singing， and ear training. In order to help us learn music well， she learned the Tibetan language from us， and taught us Chinese. In the cold classroom during winter， she often wrapped her chapped fingers with adhesive plasters， gave examples on the blackboard， and then demonstrated on the keys， leaving a deep impression on me，” said Joka gratefully.

After finishing his courses at the college， Joka worked as an instructor for the local performance team. Later he worked for a grain warehouse as a casual worker. But in his spare time he continued to develop his knowledge of music on his own. After the establishment of Tibet Art School， Joka applied for it and was admitted， therefore embarking on a music career.

The following year， the school arranged for him to study at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music on a temporary basis. “I learned flute with teacher Zhang Baoqing， and sight singing and ear training with Xu Guangxiang. In the meantime， I had harmony and piano training with Li Yixian and Dan Gongpu， and also took music composition lessons from He Xuntian，” he recalls. All these laid a solid professional foundation for his further study of composition.

A Dedicated Music Educator

In 1995， Joka graduated from the Sichuan Conservatory of Music with a masters degree. He gave up a job offer from the school and chose to teach at the Tibet Art School back in his hometown.

“After systematically studying the theory of music creation， I realized that the key to take Tibetan music to the world is to cultivate more talents， especially the local talents who have a flair and passion for Tibetan music and are dedicated to it，” he says， “Cultivation of talents requires long-term planning and lifetime dedication.”

Joka traveled by bus to Xigaze， Shannan， Nyingchi， and Nagqu and recruited six graduates of junior high school. He taught them composition， harmony， musical form， counterpoint， and orchestration. Today， four of them are undergraduate students of the Central Conservatory of Music， majoring in composition.

Before the Tibet Art School was incorporated into Tibet University， Joka studied at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music for a doctoral degree. Then he went to pursue a postdoctoral position at the Central Conservatory of Music. After finishing this postdoctoral training and research period， he went back to teach at Tibet University， and has so far mentored many undergraduate and graduate students. These graduated students have become the backbone in the field of Tibetan music creation. In the meantime， a strong faculty for the universitys Composition and Musical Theory of Compositional Techniques major has also been established， laying a good foundation for the development of the discipline. With his unremitting efforts， Tibet University has also obtained the approval to create a doctoral program in ethnomusicology.

In his teaching， Joka not only explores innovation to launch new courses， but also guides his students to apply for practice projects such as the National College Student Innovative Experimental Plan to get prepared for future entrepreneurship. He has also successively undertaken the project with first-class funding from the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation， the New Century Excellent Talent Support Program by the Ministry of Education， and an art project supported by the National Social Science Fund. For his outstanding contribution to education， Joka has won a number of honorary titles， such as “Excellent Teacher of Tibet Autonomous Region，” “National Model Teacher” and “National Advanced Worker.”

“Many people study music， but only a few persist in music as a career. Gift is not the main problem. The key is perseverance，” says Zou Xiangping， a professor at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music. He was amazed by Jokas persistence， saying， “Jokas sincerity and dedication to the development of the Tibetan music is very admirable.”

“Instead of herding animals on the grassland， I became engaged in music education， which is a lucky chance for me. In addition to my persistence， it is also inseparable from the cultivation of the country. The support and help of many people along the way has been invaluable. I want to pay back society，”said Joka. He believes that a composer must assume his responsibility for the nation – let the traditional culture be inherited and the contemporary art be developed.

Humankinds Common Language

On October 29， 2016， the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing hosted a special performance of Jokas symphonic works， making him the first Tibetan composer to be presented there. Tan Lihua， the famous conductor who performed at the concert， believes that Joka is a composer of symphonic thinking， and his works have depth and touch the essence of Tibetan culture.

At the concert， four works of Joka were performed， including the orchestral concerto Pure Land inspired by the Samatha frescoes from Tibetan Buddhist temples. This piece takes the form of an orchestral concerto， and through the language of music， creates a soundscape that leads to the pure world of mind. Another piece， Mandala， creates a sacred space through the orchestra music， which not only inspires the mind but also allows listeners to feel the transcendental interest.

According to Zou， these four works created by Joka over the past 30 years are medium and large-scale symphonies， presenting the charm of Tibetan culture. At the same time， he said， they have deep philosophical significance， reflecting the fusion of Tibetan culture and modern music.

Joka is passionate about creative music works which integrate the ele- ments of the times， reflect diversity of the world， and exhibit individuals wisdom but also embody group aesthetics. This is the kind of music he has been striving for. Thus， the symphonies originated from the West are injected with fresh vigor of Tibetan culture and spread from the snowy plateau to the world.

Jokas dream is to combine Western compositional techniques with traditional Chinese culture. Through teaching， research， and creation， he wants to enrich contemporary music with Tibetan culture， and create works of historical significance， so as to lay the foundation for future generations and develop Tibetan art music into a soft power that reflects Chinese culture.

His works have been played many times in Asia， North America， and Europe. “Music is an important channel of communication between nations and cultures. The same musical text can be interpreted in different styles because of different performers. Performance is a derivative work of the original text， the real value of musical creations，” says Joka. He looks forward to hearing diversified interpretations of his works.

Six decades after the democratic reform， the development of various undertakings in Tibet has entered fast track. The people there have been getting richer， and a growing number of new things has also poured onto the plateau. When asked if external influence would shake the foundation of Tibetan music， Jokas answer is no.“Traditional things are receiving the attention and protection of the country in the form of intangible cultural heritage， including world heritage and national heritage， which has enabled people to build up a sense of national selfconfidence，” Joka noted and considered this very important. “In the past， people did not know what was good about what they have， so they would go after the outside world and discard their own things. But after some time， they found them unsuitable and full of defects. Nowadays， traditional songs and dances in the context of intangible culture have been well protected and inherited.”

With Chinas comprehensive strength improving steadily in the 21st century， according to Joka， there has been new developments in the exploration and efforts of combining Chinese music creation. After the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China， the country has strengthened social governance， attached importance to the construction of the rule of law， and demonstrated the integrity of society. An increasing number of musicians have become interested in following current affairs and taking them as the themes of their creation， to reflect their recognition of the nations development and their awareness as a part of such development.

Recently， Joka has planned and organized three concerts featuring the works by composition MA students from the School of Art of Tibet University. The first two were successfully held in Kunming and Guangzhou， and the third will be performed in Chengdu.

“Concerts showcase the creative talent and the level of contemporary young composers in Tibet， as well as the changes and achievements made in all aspects of Tibet，” says Joka.