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Paul Winter says Nawang's "musicianship is brilliant. He is uniquely gifted musician." Nawang's Books Behind Bars Benefit Concert, "Awakening Kindness," was performed before a full house at the Albemarle County Office Building on March 30, 2012. "Books Behind Bars," a program of the Quest Institute, http://www.thequestinstitute.org/ receives more than 600 requests each month for books from inmates in Virginia and numerous other states. Many of the requests are for dictionaries and reference books from inmates who are studying for the G.E.D. or other educational opportunities. Kay Allison, owner of The Quest Bookstore, Charlottesville, VA, has been running the program for more than 20 years, with the help of volunteers, as well as financial contributions from many donors. Video story: http://www.kitescampaigns.org/campaign/channel/community-restoration-campaign/books-behind-bars/
Nawang Khechog http://www.nawangkhechog.com/
http://www2.dailyprogress.com/entertainment/2012/mar/30/tibetan-composer-helps-bring-books-music-behind-ba-ar-1804814/
Nawang's other Charlottesville area concerts were the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women, Troy, VA, Buckingham Correctional Center, Dillwyn, VA, and Park Street Christian Church, Charlottesville, VA, Larry Hastings, Minister. World-renowned flutist Nawang Khechog, the first Tibetan Grammy-nominated musician, was a monk for eleven years, including four years as a hermit meditator in the Himalayan foothills personally guided by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He has also studied with many other Tibetan masters, and now fills a unique spot in Buddhist culture, sharing the values of universal kindness and compassion as a teacher, performer, practitioner, and Tibetan freedom fighter. Nawang was a Tibetan refugee in India for more than 30 years, and now lives in Colorado. http://www.dailycamera.com/boulder-county-news/ci_18804855?source=pkg
Joan Baez was inspired to write this poem after hearing Nawang play during a dinner for the Dalai Lama in 1991: "Up above the thunderclouds and beyond the wildflowers, up where the air is thin, Nawang sat silently in a cave for seven years occasionally playing his flute at sunset. Before the notes evaporated and were transformed into an evening mist, they were heard by the mountain goats, which stopped chewing and turned their heads to listen because the god-like melodies filled them with wonderment and made them want to dance."