Editor's note: Twenty Tibetan performers are expected to give 17 shows in Australia and New Zealand over the next three weeks. China Daily staff reporters Mu Qian and Yu Nan interviewed four of them before their departure. Here they explain how they became the recognized Tibetan artists they are.

• "In the past, most Tibetan folk artists were beggars."
• "The duoding is a very expressive instrument."
• "My parents gave me a wonderful voice."
• "I am a little nervous."
• Other performers