Gyamtso Sotse says he was born with a song in his heart and as long as he remember he has always sung. His life is an inspiring journey from a nomadic life to a city dweller in Montreal. Born in the countryside of Amdo, surrounded by mountains of a nomadic settlement, he calls himself a Tibetan cowboy. He never went to school just like all in his ancestry, but when he grew up to be on his own, he took the Yaks and others to pasture. That's when he began to sing just like most others to pass the day. What began as a pastime, became a passion and gradually a side profession.

Gyamtso loved his animals and it broke his heart to kill them for meat, which finally made him decide to go and live in Lhasa and look for some other way to earn his livelihood. While in Lhasa, he discovered a whole new way of life and his identity as a Tibetan. Disillusioned by the way Tibetans were treated, he made up his mind to escape to India with 11 other friends. He was only 16 then.

It took him 21 days to trek the borders, where he ended up in a prison for a few days. Providence prevailed and soon after he landed in Dharamshala. While living there, Gyamtso worked in a restaurant and worked on his singing and learnt to play mandolin with the help of his friends as he did not have enough money to study music professionally.

TIPA organizes a song and music competition each year to encourage the younger generation. Gyamtso decided to participate and won the first place. This brought him recognition and he was asked to play for Dalai Lama birthday, which is the biggest event in the life of the Tibetan community. Gyamtso thus played for his holiness that year and every year, till he left India. Gyamtso also played for TIPA annual performing arts event.

Gyamtso married a Canadian and thus arrived in Montreal in September 2000. He joined the collective a year later and since then has been performing with them on all their major events. Gyamtso also discovered his other artistic talent in painting and wood carving, in those specialized courses and he hopes to further his eduction in these visual arts. Last year he performed at Ottawa on the event of Dalai Lama's visit. This year he has performed in the 'festival du plein air' and 'Tibetan Bazaar', where he for the first time been a part of the famous Tibetan Yak dance. Gyamtso works as a chef in 'Shambala', a Tibetan resturant in Montreal and remains committed to his singing and so far, has recorded three of his songs.