Where Does Music Come From?
Saturday, 12th of September 2026
Where does music come from?
I don’t know.
But he showed us.
In a spell-bounding two and a half hour show, Phelim McDermott took us on a journey deep into creativity with Philip Glass. Tao Of Glass.
What started as a collection of stories, images, ideas, sacred text, culminated in the most extraordinary act of creativity. In the final session of workshops that created the show, Phelim lay on the floor in a coma state. Philip started playing the piano, tuning into that deep state of creativity. It was the most beautiful music in the show.
Where did that come from?
I don’t know.
Have you played it before?
No.
[Pause]
I cried.
Sublime tears.
A deep connection.
I’ve been there.
Playing the piano.
In another world.
In a deep state, where thinking is switched off and there is a direct connection with the subconscious.
Have you played that before?
No.
It comes from the river of music. Sometimes above ground. Sometimes underground.
The fire that has to be fed with logs to keep burning. And when the block comes, the last log is you.
(1) Tao of Glass: Coma (feat. Phelim McDermott) - YouTube Coma, by Philip Glass, from the show Tao Of Glass, with Phelim McDermott
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