Ever had an audience with the Oracle of Tibet? The Nechung Oracle they call him. No, didn’t think so. I have.

It was one of the other-worldly experiences I have had covering Brisbane’s annual Festival of Tibet over the past decade or so. The Oracle performs his divinations like whirling Dervish in ornate Tibetan costume and he was a guest at the festival some years ago.

I did ask for some guidance from the Oracle but mostly his divinations are reserved for the Dalai Lama. It’s a tradition handed down over the centuries.

I also got to meet the Dalia Lama’s sister, Jetsun Pema one year. And this year the special guest at the festival, which is on across Thursday and Friday nights (June 22 and 23) at Brisbane Powerhouse, is Sikyong Penpa Tsering, President of the Central Tibetan Administration, Tibet’s thriving democracy-in-exile who addressed The National Press Club in Canberra Wednesday.

It will be fascinating to spend an evening with him. And you can.

And you’ll get to see quite a bit of Tenzin Choegyal too, him and his drangyen (Tibetan lute) with his haunting singing. Tenzin, a fixture at Woodford Folk Festival each year (he ushers in the dawn of the New Year with his monk friends) plays alongside Philip Glass, Patti Smith, Laurie Anderson and other stars at Carnegie Hall in New York at the annual Tibet House US Annual Benefit Concert which was founded by actor Richard Gere, Glass and other supporters of the Tibetan cause.

From The Gap to Carnegie Hall … it’s quite a stretch.

The rest of the year, when he’s not at The Gap with his family, Tenzin is touring Australia and the world collaborating with a range of other musos and flying the flag for Tibet and Tibetans in exile.

This week he’s home to host the festival he founded and we get to see a bit of him at this unique musical and cultural event. It’s a little more compact this year, just two nights, but hopefully post covid it can slowly expand again to include other events and stalls and the famous sand mandala of pre pandemic times. Brisbane Powerhouse seems to have become the festival’s spiritual home.

CEO and artistic director Kate Gould says she is keen to continue to support this festival which is in its 15th incarnation.

“The Brisbane Powerhouse team is excited to yet again have the opportunity to host this incredible event within our venue,” Kate Gould says.

“We love presenting conversations and works by people who inspire us, and we look forward to connecting Brisbane audiences with the rare, beautiful experiences the Festival of Tibet has to offer.”

Tenzin Choegyal says he is “slowly trying to bring back the Festival of Tibet after Covid”.

“This year marks the festival’s 15-year milestone, an achievement made possible thanks to the many participants and visitors who have come along each year, a strong group of volunteers and generous support from long-term partner Perfect Potion,” Tenzin says.

“Over the years the festival has featured a stellar line-up of artists, dignitaries and speakers, highlighted important issues through discussion and debate, showcased Tibet’s unique arts and culture and raised thousands of dollars for the education of Tibetan refugee children.”

Thursday night Tenzin Choegyal gets together with Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra for Be the Ocean, a one-night-only special concert featuring their unique fusion of Tibetan sounds and classical strings. It’s been a while since they last played together so they are looking forward to presenting some new music as well as favourites from their 2021 album Yeshi Dolma. The bad news? That event is sold out.

The good news? There are still tickets available for a very special event Friday night. Homeland, an exclusive evening with Sikyong Penpa Tsering.

“In a wide-ranging conversation with Sarah Kanowski from ABC Radio’s Conversations he will discuss Tibet’s aspirations for the future, the ongoing education of Tibetan children and responses to the climate crisis,” Tenzin Choegyal says. The evening will begin with a special musical performance by Tenzin, First Nations didgeridoo player Glenn Barry with Cy Wood on violin.

If you’ve never been as Molly Meldrum says, do yourself a favour …

Money raised is donated to the Tibetan Children’s Village, India, to support the education of Tibetan refugee children

festivaloftibet.com.au