Kesang Marstrand (born October 31, 1981) is an American

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She is best known for the single "Tibet Will Be Free" that she wrote after March 2008 unrest in Tibet, in support of the non-violent resistance of the Tibetan people, and for her debut album, ''Bodega Rose'', which was released November 21, 2008."Interview: Kesang Marstrand", "Indiecision.com", February 28, 2009
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Early life

Born in

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, New York, Kingston. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The popula ...

, to a Danish mother and

Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...

father. She grew up in

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

and she later moved to New York City . Her interest in music began at an early age, as she discovered her passion for music via a piano in the common room of a schoolhouse in

. Marstrand started to study and practice meditation when she was 16, and had the opportunity to spend time at

Bokar Lhoba (English translation: ; ; ) is any of a diverse amalgamation of Sino-Tibetan-speaking tribespeople living in and around Pemako, a region in southeastern Tibet including Mainling, Medog and Zayü counties of Nyingchi and Lhünzê Count ...

Monastery in India, as well as the chance to visit

Bodhgaya Bodh Gayā is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple complex, situated in the Gaya district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is famous for being the place where Gautama Buddha is said to have attained e ...

and

Dharamshala Dharamshala (, ; also spelled Dharamsala) is a town in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It serves as the winter capital of the state and the administrative headquarters of the Kangra district since 1855. The town also hosts the Tibeta ...

Career

Kesang Marstrand has been writing and performing for the past decade. In November 2008, she released her debut album, ''Bodega Rose'', a contemplative, acoustic work that includes accompaniment by renowned musician and composer,

Karl Berger Karl Hans Berger (March 30, 1935 – April 9, 2023) was a German-American jazz pianist, vibraphonist, composer, and educator. He was a leading figure in jazz improvisation from the 1960s when he settled in the United States for life. He founde ...

. The album, in addition to eleven original tracks, also includes a cover song, a sparse, down-tempo version of

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

and

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

's collaboration, "

Say Say Say "Say Say Say" is a song by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson, released in October 1983 as the lead single from McCartney's 1983 album '' Pipes of Peace''. Produced by George Martin, it was recorded during production of McCartney's 1982 '' Tu ...

". In August 2009, Kesang Marstrand released her second Album, ''Hello Night'', an album of lullabies mostly appropriate for children aged between 0 and 4.

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly The Mining Company, About.com and Dotdash) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, hom ...

selected ''Hello Night'' among The Best Kids' Music of 2009 Kesang Marstrand moved to

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

from 2010 to 2013, where she was active on cultural scene. During the heights of 2011 Tunisian Revolution which toppled the president

Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is, as noted on Merriam-Webster’s official website, a magazine that is a “noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject ...

, she had released her slow interpretation of the national anthem of Tunisia – Humat al-Hima with positive response. Her third album, ''Our Myth'', was released on May 15, 2011. Marstrand produced her newest album ''For My Love'' entirely at home in New York City. The result is ten songs that mark her debut as a producer, already have been called "an unusually gifted singer and composer," according to

Michael Erlewine John Michael Erlewine (; born July 18, 1941) is an American musician, astrologer, photographer, publisher, and Internet entrepreneur who founded the music online database site AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide) in 1991. Career Erle ...

, founder of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

. In support of the album, Marstrand performed on

Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merge ...

's Coffee House Live, with her performance airing on June 23, 2016. In 2016, Marstrand supplied vocals for electronic act Tiger Mountain's single, My Heart Is A War.

Albums

References

External links

* Kesang Marstrand on Wikimedia Commons * * Allmusic review: Kesang Marstrand ''Bodega Rose'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Marstrand, Kesang 1981 births Songwriters from New York (state) American musicians of Tibetan descent American people of Danish descent American people of Tibetan descent Living people Musicians from Woodstock, New York Singers from Colorado Singers from New York City Guitarists from Colorado 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American women guitarists