David Kelly photograph
By Philip Glass and Tenzin Choeygal
CRICOS: 00233E | TEQSA: PRV12076
BE THE SKY
Credit: Photographer’s name
Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we work. We pay respect to the Elders, past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Credit: Photographer’s name
I send my good wishes and am very happy that students and artists of the Conservatorium are playing our music. I wish I could be there with you all for the experience. It looks and sounds excellent from the short rehearsal clips.
Philip Glass, Sept 2, 2026.
Credit: Andreas H. Bitesnnich
BE THE SKY
BE THE SKY
Composed by
Composed by Tenzin Choeygal and Philip Glass with Musical Arranger Alex Gray Curated by Vanessa Tomlinson
Tenzin Choeygal and Philip Glass with Musical Arranger Alex Gray Curated by Vanessa Tomlinson
Featuring The Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra The Con Chorus conducted by Anthony Young & QCGU staff Erik Griswold - piano Diana Tolmie - saxophone Martin Kay - saxophone Graeme Jennings - violin Vanessa Tomlinson - vibraphone Tim Munro - flute Featuring The Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra The Con Chorus conducted by Anthony Young & QCGU staff Erik Griswold - piano Diana Tolmie - saxophone Martin Kay - saxophone Graeme Jennings - violin Vanessa Tomlinson - vibraphone Tim Munro - flute
Welcome A welcome collated by Professor Vanessa Tomlinson Director, Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University
The Queensland Conservatorium is delighted to partner with Brisbane Festival to present Be the Sky; a project based on the extraordinary friendship and creative partnership between Philip Glass and Tenzin Choeygal. This project began during the 2020 lockdown, when a planned New York world premiere White Lama was cancelled. Like so many artists at that time, they suddenly found themselves separated by international borders and uncertainty. Philip simply asked Tenzin, "What should we do?" Tenzin had been reflecting on a poem by the great Tibetan yogi Milarepa, containing the phrase Be the Sky; an invitation to let go of fear and to cultivate a mind as spacious as the sky itself. Philip connected immediately with the idea, and the two began exchanging musical sketches between New York and Brisbane. What followed was not simply a collaboration. Across several years, new works emerged, old ideas were transformed, and a shared musical language evolved between two artists from very different traditions.
Welcome (cont.) Their relationship extends far beyond the concert hall. Tenzin has often stayed with Philip for weeks at a time, making music together every day. Philip, even now approaching his 90th birthday, still sits at the piano daily, composing. He is known to stop in the middle of an improvisation to urgently write down an idea with pen and paper, while Tenzin captures their sessions on recordings to revisit later. Tenzin often says that Philip is a better Buddhist practitioner than he is himself. Philip, in turn, is a constant source of encouragement. When Tenzin was overwhelmed before an early performance at Carnegie Hall, Philip reassured him with these words: "There is only one Tenzin on this planet who can do Tenzin. You will be fine." Tonight's performance celebrates this friendship, honours both Philip Glass and His Holiness the Dalai Lama in their 90th year, and brings this remarkable musical journey home to Brisbane. It is also an opportunity for Conservatorium students and staff to participate in the creation and performance of a significant new work alongside special guest Alex Gray who joins us from NYC. Please enjoy Be the Sky.
A Word from Tenzin The idea for Be the Sky began in 2020, when Philip and I started exchanging files and composing music together from opposite sides of the world. Alex Gray in New York City and Marcello Milani in Brisbane helped us piece the musical puzzle together as we worked between Brisbane and New York. Actress Saori Tsukada brought Milarepa's beautiful poem to life through her narration. The video at the centre of tonight's performance, Be the Sky, was filmed during lockdown on two sides of the world. This marked the beginning of a four-year journey that culminated in the album Be the Sky, released in honour of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's 90th birthday. The final step came with the recording of Snowy Mountain, featuring children from the Tibetan Children's Village in northern India. This is the community where I grew up, bringing the project full circle and back home. I travelled to the Village in November 2024 to record the children. We made a video documentation of the children singing Snowy Mountain. The words form a prayer for His Holiness to live a long life and continue serving humanity. The video deeply touched Tibetans around the world, including the Dalai Lama's younger sister, who was profoundly moved by its message and music. The album was released on 14 November 2025 and received its world premiere in New York later that month. Tonight's performance is only the second presentation of the work and its Australian premiere. The tracks Who Am I, Single Thought and Be the Sky are all new collaborative works. Until Space Remains draws inspiration from music Philip and I created for the film The Last Dalai Lama? Karmic Mandala was written to evoke the sound world of the Philip Glass Ensemble, built around one of Philip's signature bass lines and enriched by the unexpected addition of three saxophones.
A Word from Tenzin (cont.)
For this performance to come to fruition, timing was everything. I wanted to bring the project home, and Vanessa immediately embraced the idea, inviting Brisbane Festival Director Ebony Bott into the conversation. Brisbane is where my musical journey in Australia truly began. Following an early performance at the Woodford Folk Festival, I was welcomed into Brisbane's arts community, where I first met Vanessa and Erik and many other musicians. My connection with the Queensland Conservatorium dates back to 2007, during the directorship of Huib Schippers. I performed in Nora Farrell and Bill Duckworth's i-Orpheus, an ambitious work that transformed the entire South Bank Parklands into the setting for a roving opera. Through Vanessa, I have returned to the Conservatorium many times as a guest artist, sharing music and connecting with students through workshops, performances and improvisation. Another important connection is Conservatorium alumna and cellist Katherine Philip, who has become a valued collaborator. She arranged and orchestrated Snow Lion, the version of the work being performed tonight. Next year, Philip Glass will celebrate his 90th birthday. In tribute to Philip, Alex Gray has arranged Liquid Days for the Conservatorium Chorus. Originally written for a vocal trio, the work has been specially reimagined for a 40-voice SATB choir. Philip's first instrument was the flute, which features prominently in this piece and is performed tonight by Tim Munro and one of his students. With thanks to everyone who has made this collaboration possible. Tenzin
Program Gyudmed Monks of Tibet Heart Sutra From a Single Thought Improvised by Choeygal, Tomlinson, Griswold & Gray Who Am I? Improvised by Choeygal, Tomlinson, Griswold, Gray & Munro Snow Lion Arr. Katherine Philp Be The Sky* Video Interlude Until Space Remains Karmic Mandala Phillip Glass: Liquid Days** Arr. Alex Gray Snowy Mountains- GangRi Rawe *Be the Sky is a short film of Tenzin Choegyal and Philip Glass made by Saori Tsukada (New York) and Tashi T. Richards (Australia) during the recording of the title track of the album, Be the Sky. **Liquid Days is performed in honour of Philip Glass turning 90 in 2027. This is the world premiere of this SATB arrangement, made especially for the Con Chorus.
Composer
Credit: Andreas H. Bitesnnich
Philip Glass
Philip Glass is a pioneering American composer and pianist, celebrated as one of minimalism’s mostinfl uential architects. Educated at the University of Chicago, Juilliard, Aspen (with Darius Milhaud),and in Paris under Nadia Boulanger and Ravi Shankar, he developed his signature style of “music withrepetitive structures.” Glass founded the Philip Glass Ensemble in 1968 and has since created a vastand varied body of work—including operas like Einstein on the Beach, Satyagraha, and Akhnaten; 14 symphonies; numerous concertos, quartets, chamber pieces, and fi lm scores (earning multiple Grammy and Academy Award nominations). His collaborations span artists across theatre, visual arts,and popular music, and his accolades include the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, the National Medal ofArts, Kennedy Center Honors, and a Lifetime Achievement award from the World SoundtrackAcademy.
Artists Tenzin Choegyal Composer/Performer
Tenzin Choegyal is a Tibetan composer, singer-songwriter, and cultural ambassador whose deeply evocative voice and mastery of traditional instruments such as the dranyen (Tibetan lute) and lingbu (bamboo flute) have earned him global recognition. Born into a nomadic family in Tibet and raised in exile in Dharamsala, India, Choegyal's music draws from his heritage while pushing into contemporary and cross genre collaborations—from chamber orchestras and avant garde composers like Philip Glass to projects with Laurie Anderson. Over a career spanning more than two decades, he has released multiple albums (including Grammy nominated Songs from the Bardo), performed at prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall and WOMAD festivals, and founded cultural initiatives such as Brisbane’s Festival of Tibet.
Artists Alex Ring Gray Composer/Performer
Alex Ring Gray is a Nashville-born composer, performer, and multimedia artist whose creative work spans concert music, film scores, and installations, drawing on conceptual processes, procedural generative systems, and improvisation. His stylistic roots blend free jazz, austere minimalism, Appalachian folk, and ambient electronics. In addition to his solo output, Gray co-founded the artist-run label cmntx records, serves as Technical Director of the ensemble InfraSound, and works as an engineer for the Nief-Norf Summer Festival. Since 2018, he has also served as music assistant to Philip Glass—supporting both new and archival projects—and has collaborated with composers like Nico Muhly, Angélica Negrón, and Alex Weston. A former jazz saxophonist raised in Nashville, he earned degrees in composition and musicology from the University of Tennessee (BM) and New York University (MM), studying under Michael Gordon, Julia Wolfe, Morton Subotnick, and Andrew Sigler.
Conservatorium Be the Sky Orchestra Vocals, Dranyen, Bamboo Flute Tenzin Choegyal * Vioin 1 Graeme Jennings * Theodore Aitcheson Layla Mertz Siobhan Mewes Mirage Hunter Demecs
Violin 2 Sophia Di Lucchio * Eve Scott Jade Leong Amalie Grime Bryn Wiseman Candice Kuo
Viola Harriet Dykes * Lucia Hwang Brooke Shim
Cello Emma Seedell-Greene * Aaron Goldburg
Contrabass Oliver Murphy * Hilary Davis
Flute Tim Munro * Laura Skorzewski
*Principal
Conservatorium Be the Sky Orchestra (cont.) Piano Erik Griswold*
Vibraphone Vanessa Tomlinson * Guitar, Mandolin, Keyboard Alex Gray * Banjo Jeremy Stafford *
Soprano Saxophone Diana Tolmie * Alto Saxophone Ella Bowmer *
Tenor Saxophone Martin Kay *
*Principal
The Con Chorus Sopranos Sarah Dixon Emily Dove Alyssa Fitzgibbon Ava Gall Makybe Gates Elle Hamilton Sophie Jamieson Esther Junker Georgia Ogg Helena Shearer Alwyn Zhang
Alto Misaki Akamatsu Mia Axford Chelsea Baer Ruby Flowers Phoebe Foster Griffiths Lucinda Hopper Erika Johnson Rosie Proctor Gypsy Schmidt Anna Sosnowski
Tenor Sam Boggert Dominic Crosato Iris de la Garde Ascher Eisenreich Tiberio Gallo Mac Gynther Camillo Lanzafame Benjamin Litchfield Phuong Tue Linh Nguyen Daniel Ren Stelle Tapper
Bass Charles Bateman Max Carpenter Sam Caruana Costa Fossey Kieron Lindsay Ethan Patrick Joseph Pastorius Harry Powell Emi Ennis
Conservatorium Singers prepared by Dr. Anthony Young Repetiteur Kylie Los
Conservatorium Staff Conservatorium Manager Director Professor Vanessa Tomlinson Stuart Jones Deputy Director (Learning and Teaching) Associate Professor Donna Weston Deputy Director (Research) Prof. Brydie-Leigh Bartleet Deputy Director (Performance & Partnerships) Professor Peter Morris Head of Keyboard Assoc. Prof. Daniel de Borah Head of Strings Associate Professor Michelle Walsh Head of Woodwinds Associate Professor Tim Munro Head of Brass Dr Ben Marks Head of Percussion Dr. Rebecca Lloyd-Jones Head of Composition Dr Nicole Murphy
Front of House Operations Manager Michael Hibbard Executive Officer (Engagement) Dr Natalie Lewandowski-Cox Program Coordinator (Ensembles) & Orchestra Manager Daniel Fossi Administrator OfficerOperations Timothy Tate Administrator OfficerTimetabling Joshua White Technical Officers Keith Clark, Amy Hauser, Len McPherson Venue Officers Brendan Cardiff, Chloe Forbes Administration Officer Liz Tyson-Doneley
Special thanks Special thanks to Queensland Conservatorium supporters and donors. Philanthropy plays a vital role at Queensland Conservatorium. Only through your support can our students experience valuable learning opportunities through productions such as this one. To invest in the future of music and performance in Queensland, contact us on +61 (0)7 5552 7218 or email giving@griffith.edu.au Queensland Conservatorium thanks our generous donors and supporters. We would like to acknowledge our instrument bank donors supporting the students in tonight’s performance.
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CRICOS: 00233E | TEQSA: PRV12076
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