An intriguing music documentary about world-traveled composer and conductor Joel Thome, Inside The Perfect Circle provides a close personal look at Thome’s career and philosophy and how he used music as a resource for healing following a stroke, resuming composing and returning to the stage.
Thome collaborated extensively with Frank Zappa arranging the rock icon’s music for symphony orchestra and rock band. He was awarded a Grammy for his work with Zappa and guitarist Steve Vai, and was also nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. After suffering a debilitating stroke in 1998, Joel lost the use of his left arm and was forced to undergo years of recovery. Using music as a resource for healing, he was able to resume composing and returned to the stage to perform his graphically notated mandala scores. The performance was featured at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City in September 2009.
This video was formerly included in the Expressive Media Arts Therapies Films Collection distributed by Expressive Media Inc.