Media
Writing by and about Halcyon
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Some of the nice things our audiences and colleagues have said about us.
Reviews
Full reviews list here.
Media
Nurture your university connections – they could last you for life by Cut Common, 6/12/22
Jenny and Elliott talk with Cut Common on long working relationships and autobiochemistry
New elemental music with Elliott Gyger - Jenny Duck-Chong and Elliott Gyger on the Music Show 4/12/22
Halcyon’s director, Jenny Duck-Chong and composer Elliott Gyger talk to Andrew Ford on the Music Show. Jenny and celliist Rosanne Hunt preview two songs from Gyger’s autobiochemistry before the world premiere performance.
2022 Paul Lowin Prizes Winners Announced by Australian Music Centre 15/11/22
Elliott Gyger wins Paul Lowin Song Cycle Prize for 2022 for autobiochemistry, commissioned by Halcyon
Q&A with Halcyon’s Jenny Duck-Chong ahead of IN NATURE by Phillipa van Helden for Classikon 11/10/19
Phillipa talks with Jenny on nature and poetry as artistic inspiration, the importance of supporting new music and the unique soundscapes In Nature will evoke.
Ecstatic Edwards - performers choice by Anni Heino for resonate 18/12/18
To congratulate one of our best-loved and most-performed composers, Ross Edwards, on the eve of his 75th birthday, we asked Australian musicians to talk about their favourite Edwards works.
Halcyon: 20 years in 20 pictures by Jenny Duck-Chong for Cut Common 11/12/18
This year, Halcyon celebrates its 20th birthday. In this photoblog, artistic director Jenny Duck-Chong reflects on the occasion as she shares a visual journey of the highlights of her Australian vocal music initiative.
Q&A with Halcyon’s Jenny Duck-Chong about Shining Shores by Kate Tribe for Classikon 27/11/18
Halcyon Performs Elliott Gyger - Jenny Duck-Chong and Elliott Gyger on the Music Show 30/9/18
Elliott Gyger and mezzo-soprano Jenny Duck-Chong are on The Music Show to talk about how the language of children can inspire vocal works and how contemporary chamber music has changed in the twenty years since Halcyon was formed. Includes extracts from their new album From The Hungry Waiting Country.
This Kind of Life: Halcyon celebrates 20 years of new music by Angus McPherson for Limelight 18/7/18
It is great to be able to look back and reflect on what has happened in the last twenty years: creating a substantial body of new Australian repertoire for voice and instruments; producing a significant recording catalogue… maintaining a high standard of repertoire across two decades of programming, which has been regularly acclaimed for its excellence; developing a diverse audience base drawing together new music aficionados, friends, newcomers, composers and fellow musicians who have trusted us to present interesting and engaging programs and come along even if they knew none of the works or composers on the program; building a strong network of co-artists at various stages of their career (over 120 musicians have been involved in Halcyon performances); developing a YouTube presence, including an interview series with Australian composers about their work; and showing instrumentalists and composers that singers are musicians too!
I guess there’s a lot to celebrate!
Jenny Duck-Chong on 20 years of Halcyon by Kate Tribe for ClassikON 16/7/18
I've never been very good at taking advice from myself! But if I had to ...passion and vision are great motivators to begin something but you need more to last the distance - apart from being excellent at what you do you need unlimited persistence and patience, a positive outlook, a high degree of resourcefulness and problem and good friends and colleagues.
Halcyon albums now from the AMC by Australian Music Centre 14/11/17
Kingfisher - songs for Halcyon by Alison Morgan 8/8/13
...rested and ready for a bold new challenge, we’ve asked 23 composers to write 23 new chamber songs for Halcyon. 'Kingfisher' ('halcyon' is the genus name for this dashing little bird) is already proving to be an immensely satisfying venture, though rehearsals are still three months away. The first songs have trickled in, each one a unique instalment in what promises to be the best birthday present ever!
Halcyon: the binary star by Elliott Gyger 23/9/13
For The Pleiades at Midnight I happened upon a delightful metaphor for the ensemble as a whole. Halcyon (in its Latinised form, Alcyone) is the name of the brightest star in the Pleiades – not a single star, as it happens, but an eclipsing binary orbited by three smaller stars. My piece therefore places Alison and Jenny – as joint soloists and co-directors – at the centre, orbited by a constellation of three instrumentalists.
Invitation to another voyage: my new work for Halcyon by Gordon Kerry 19/9/13
Halcyon's dedication to new work has been exemplary; the results are performances of the highest standard, both of newly commissioned and established works.
First Stones - from ideas to fruition by Elliott Gyger 29/11/11
Having participated in numerous composer development programs myself, it is a pleasure and a delight now to be able to pass on the favour to younger composers through taking on the role of teacher and mentor. Halcyon’s First Stones project has been particularly rewarding, as it’s the first program I’ve been in on from the beginning and helped to design...
First Stones - compositions taking shape by Alison Morgan 6/7/11
First Stones - a new composer development initiative by Halcyon by Jenny Duck-Chong 28/2/11
Since its inception in 1998, Halcyon has made a very significant contribution to the body of new work for voice created by established Australian composers. This year, the ensemble invites emerging composers from around Australia to take part in FIRST STONES, a new initiative to encourage the development of vocal writing skills. Successful applicants will take part in seminars and workshops in Sydney, with mentorship by Halcyon and composer Elliott Gyger. The project will culminate in November with a performance of the new works by Halcyon, as part of the New Music Network’s 2011 concert series. Deadline for FIRST STONES applications is 14 March.
A decade of Halcyon - now they are 10 by Andrew Ford 2/9/08
Calling themselves Halcyon and gathering around them, from project to project, instrumentalists and other singers, they have ever since provided one of the few consistently bright spots on Sydney's fairly dire new music scene.