Kheng Sonam Dorji

Kheng Sonam Dorji is a respected musician, composer, archivist and music researcher whose roots lie deep in the countryside of Bhutan. After spending his younger days in a far-out village of Zhemgang district and learning music from his mother and nature sounds, he moved to Thimphu where he created his first hit and nationally recognized song in his local native tongue of ‘Khengpa’, leading to his title of ‘Kheng’.

Following years of Sonam’s life led him to study music in India for many years, followed by a performance in Washington DC at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, before returning to Bhutan and setting up the Music of Bhutan Research Center (MBRC) and spending extensive energy on the importance and conservation of traditional Bhutanese music.