Tenzin can never return to his birthplace. Now Brisbane is his home, and music legends are his friends

Brisbane-based musician Tenzin Choegyal will perform his co-composed album Be the Sky at the Brisbane Festival in September 2026. The work, inspired by themes of exile and deeply tied to his personal history, marks a milestone in his career and reflects his enduring connection to Tibet, a place he can no longer visit due to political circumstances. The album, released in November 2025, features contributions from refugee children from the Tibetan Children’s Village and includes performances by Nashville-born musician Alex Ring Gray. Choegyal, who has collaborated extensively with renowned composer Philip Glass over the past decade, describes the project as a means of returning to his homeland through music. Tenzin Choegyal first met Philip Glass in 2011, though he had no prior knowledge of the composer’s stature. Glass, known for works such as The Truman Show and Koyaanisqatsi, had already heard of Choegyal and extended an invitation to perform at Carnegie Hall during the Tibet House Annual Benefit Concert. This annual event, curated by Glass, brings together traditional Tibetan musicians and prominent pop artists to raise funds for cultural preservation efforts. Choegyal has participated in the concert eleven times, working with Glass both in New York and Brisbane on various projects, including the soundtrack for a documentary titled The Last Dalai Lama? In March 2026, he once again performed alongside Glass at Carnegie Hall, sharing the stage with artists such as Elvis Costello, Elysian Fields, Kate Pierson, and Robert De Niro. Be the Sky, the album Choegyal co-composed with Glass, draws upon texts from the Tibetan yogi Milarepa and prayers attributed to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. The work is structured as a reflective song cycle centered on themes of displacement and longing, subjects that resonate deeply with Choegyal's own experience. “The music carries me to places I can no longer physically go, especially Tibet,” he explains. “Although I live far from my homeland, Tibet resides within me, and this album became a way of returning through music.” The album blends elements of Glass’s minimalist style, characterized by repetitive, propulsive arpeggios, with the expressive, soaring quality of Choegyal’s Tibetan singing. Born in Tibet, Choegyal fled the Chinese occupation with his family in the early 1970s. After settling in Nepal, where his father passed away, his mother arranged for him to join the Tibetan Children’s Village in Dharamsala, northern India, where the Dalai Lama has resided since 1960. Raised in an orphanage there, Choegyal developed a deep appreciation for traditional Tibetan music, influenced by his father’s playing of the lingbu, a transverse bamboo flute, and his mother’s chants, which remain among his earliest memories. He later learned to play the dranyen, a Tibetan lute, and continued his musical training in Brisbane, where he has lived since 1997. Upon arriving in Brisbane, Choegyal found a welcoming artistic community that helped shape his identity as a performer. One of his earliest experiences in the city was performing at the Woodford Folk Festival, where he felt a sense of belonging akin to finding a second home. The festival, known for its celebration of folk traditions and cross-cultural collaboration, provided a platform for Choegyal to share his heritage and connect with other musicians. His work in Brisbane has allowed him to blend his Tibetan roots with contemporary influences, creating a distinctive sound that bridges East and West. The upcoming performance of Be the Sky at the Brisbane Festival holds particular significance for Choegyal, as it represents both a culmination of his journey and a tribute to those who have influenced his path. He credits the Dalai Lama and Philip Glass as two figures whose lives and artistry have profoundly shaped his worldview. Both are approaching their 90th birthdays, and Choegyal notes how their wisdom and generosity continue to guide him. His evolving relationship with Glass has grown increasingly collaborative, with some creative elements for Be the Sky stemming from Choegyal’s earlier compositions. As he prepares to present the album in his adopted hometown, he looks forward to sharing this deeply personal work with an audience that has supported his artistic endeavors throughout his life.