Philip Glass & Tenzin Choegyal - Be The Sky (2025)

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Philip Glass & Tenzin Choegyal - Be The Sky (2025)

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Working on a new album with composer Philip Glass is a dream collaboration for Brisbane-based musician Tenzin Choegyal. Choegyal, who came to Australia as a refugee, has made a name for himself as a bit of a world music star. His friendship and collaborations with revered American composer Philip Glass has been a meaningful journey together. Glass, now 88, is a Tibetan Buddhist, like Choegyal, although Glass is more devout and spiritually accomplished, insists Choegyal.

Glass is a supporter of the Tibetan cause and the Dalai Lama and Glass and Choegyal collaborated writing the soundtrack for the 2016 film documentary The Last Dalai Lama? The pair have done other projects together.

Glass has been involved in the annual Tibet House Benefit Concert held at Carnegie Hall in New York and Choegyal has been a regular guest performer at that event (he played there in March), where he has shared the stage with musical luminaries such as Michael Stipe, Patti Smith and Laurie Anderson, among others.

Choegyal is regarded as one of the finest world music artists of Tibetan lineage (his last album, a collaboration with Australian musician Matt Corby, called Snow Flower, was released in January 2025) and he performs at festivals all over the world. He also famously ushers in the New Year at the Woodford Folk Festival.

Choegyal is based in the Brisbane suburb of The Gap, where he lives with his wife Bronwyn Richards and their two children, Pemma and Tashi.

Glass and Chogyal’s new collaborative album, Be The Sky (on Glass’s Orange Mountain Music label), will be released in November. Before then, and to celebrate the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday on July 6, a single from the album will be released on July 4.