Education
Read more about
FIRST STONES 2022
a vocal writing intensive
Presented in association with the Australian Music Centre
INTRODUCTION
For more than two decades, Halcyon has proved its credentials as an educator and mentor, with a willingness to share their vast experience and to engage and interact with audiences, composers, students and teachers alike in residencies, composer workshops and other projects. Halcyon now offers a series of educational presentations about the voice and contemporary vocal repertoire suitable for young composers or singers, music students and their teachers. Each seminar is able to be used in conjunction with practical workshops or as a stand alone presentation.
On this page you’ll find details of these presentations, some specific educational projects and other free resources to explore. Further presentations or practical workshops could also be developed to focus on other specific works from Halcyon’s repertoire or to explore particular areas of interest in more detail.
All these presentations are given by Halcyon’s artistic director Jenny Duck-Chong and require audio and projection capabilities. Additional reference material will also be included. Other presentations or practical workshops may also be developed in consultation.
Contact us to start a conversation.
COMPOSER CONSULTATION with Jenny Duck-Chong
Every voice is distinctive and individual beyond the empirical voice classifications of the textbooks. The physiology of each individual instrument can affect fundamental qualities like range, flexibility and tone colour. Although it is an instrument that we all carry with us, many composers do not take full advantage of its many interesting capabilities, nor know enough about its capacity for both text delivery and interpretation.
As both a singer of contemporary music since my earliest training and as the director of Halcyon for almost twenty five years, I have spent years deeply immersed in the scores of countless contemporary composers. This experience has given me a wide-ranging perspective as I interpret the many and varied ways that composers seek to communicate their ideas. Additionally, my innate curiosity and analytical mindset have always led me to ask questions, to try to understand the ‘why’ of a musical score, not just the ‘what’.
What I offer
The challenge for any composer is to give interpreters the tools they need, so that their ideas can be clearly understood directly from the page. The work should be able to ‘speak’ for itself. This is a vital skill for every composer, but particularly in vocal music, where singers weigh both musical and poetic considerations in crafting their performance.
After decades of acting informally as an advisor to emerging composers and presenting seminars, masterclasses and workshops in secondary and tertiary settings, I am now establishing a personalised composer consultation service to assist those who wish to write more effectively for the voice and gain insights from an experienced interpreter.
Suitable for adult composers of any age, these one-to-one online sessions are tailored to individual needs. We can hone specific repertoire through detailed examination or develop vocal writing skills through a more general overview of work. Questions of interpretation, performance practice, the technical specifics of the vocal instrument, vocal technique and idiom or the practicalities of text setting and delivery are some of the areas we could explore.
Sessions are 1 hour in duration.
To discuss a consultation, please contact me at jenny@halcyonartmusic.com.au
Masterclasses and tuition
Halcyon’s artistic director Jenny Duck-Chong brings her decades of experience as a teacher, performer and presenter to her teaching work. She works with adult singers and composers of vocal music in the following areas:
• masterclasses for singers or workshops for composers to hone pieces for performance
• one-to-one composition analysis, feedback or mentoring for composers keen to sharpen their vocal writing skills
• one-to-one tuition or mentoring to singers keen to expand or develop their contemporary repertoire and technique
Contact us for more fees and more information or read more on her own website here.
Presentations
Writing for the voice - What do composers really need to know?
I. An introduction to contemporary vocal writing
II. Further explorations
A presentation in one or two parts. Part I includes an outline of the vocal instrument and its abilities, techniques for good vocal writing and common mistakes, and, through score and audio example, a overview of a range of contemporary vocal repertoire illustrating the diversity of effective text setting and ensemble considerations
Possible topics to be covered in Part II: the trained voice and its physiology; the voice as an instrument in chamber music; why range is not the only question; text: how it can be used, why it matters, choices and consequences; performability; collaboration between composer and performer
Suitable for:
Secondary music or composition students and their teachers and tertiary compositions students. Can be combined with various scales of practical workshops for student compositions. See First Stones
How to approach a score - A performer’s perspective
This seminar gives a brief introduction to the voice as an instrument and then looks at approaches to text, vocal writing, notation and ensemble matters in vocal chamber music with many score and audio examples of Australian contemporary vocal works from Halcyon’s repertoire. Explores the complementary ideas of a composer’s intent and a performer's role in interpretation. How clear is a composer’s intent? And what does a performer bring to a piece as an interpreter?
Suitable for:
Secondary music or composition students and their teachers and tertiary compositions students who wish to approach contemporary scores from a different perspective and discover a range of new repertoire and personal insights from a performer of many years experience.
Also suitable for younger singers and their teachers seeking to explore this area of repertoire.
A snapshot of contemporary vocal repertoire (and the benefits of working with living composers)
I. for voice and piano
II. for voice and chamber ensemble
An overview of a diverse range of repertoire including handpicked examples of contemporary repertoire and discussion of relevant Halcyon commissions.
Can include discussion of what skills are required to work in this field Can focus exclusively on Australian or commissioned material or a more global perspective.
Suitable for:
Secondary or tertiary students or teachers of singing or composition.
Projects
Kingfisher: Songs for Halcyon
A tailored presentation which focuses on selected works from the 21 pieces commissioned for the project. Read more.
War Letters
An interactive presentation which focuses on four newly-commissioned works setting the words of everyday Australians during WWI. Read more.
First Stones and other practical composition projects
A range of smaller composition projects for adult composers, secondary and tertiary students with and without ensemble. Read more.
In Conversation With
Meet great Australian composers of vocal music and hear insights into their work in their own words
Archival Footage
Performance footage, recordings and more uploaded from the vaults on our Youtube channel
Testimonials
“In June 2017, Jenny Duck Chong presented at the ASME Composition day for High School Music Teachers from the perspective of a performer who has commissioned new works and worked closely with Australian Composers. Teachers were thoroughly engaged with her insights. Spicing her talk with examples of work commissioned by Halcyon, Jenny discussed the ways in which performers and composers can collaborate.”
“As well as possessing a highly developed set of technical skills for realizing challenging new music, Jenny and Halcyon always operate from the assumption that every work – whether from an established international figure or a relatively inexperienced early-career composer – demands the same level of care and attention, and has the potential to be a vehicle for a telling expressive statement.”