Jenny performs two Halcyon-commissioned works in Melbourne, written for her by long term friends and colleagues, Katy Abbott and Elliott Gyger.

The New Music Studio and Halcyon collaborate to present two vocal chamber works by Conservatorium composition staff spanning almost 15 years. No Ordinary Traveller (2006), composed by Katy Abbott to a libretto by Jacki Holland, was inspired by shipboard letters and diary entries, written by 19th-century European settlers on their way to Australia. It captures their vulnerability and uncertainty as they navigate the transition between their old and new lives. Elliott Gyger’s Autobiochemistry (2019), for voice and cello, sets words from the collection of the same name by Sydney poet Tricia Dearborn. Each poem is titled after a chemical element, exploring its resonances with human experience via biology, personal anecdote and vivid metaphor. It was the winning work in the 2022 Paul Lowin Song Cycle Prize. Both works will be sung by mezzo-soprano Jenny Duck-Chong, for whom they were written.

In Halcyon’s 25th birthday year, the program celebrates long working relationships and demonstrates Halcyon’s continuing commitment to showcasing Australian composition of the highest calibre.

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ARTISTS
Jenny Duck-Chong, mezzo-soprano
Rosanne Hunt, cello
Patrick Vaughan, clarinet
Leah Columbine, percussion
Tina Tao, piano

Wednesday 5 April at 7.30pm
Hanson-Dyer Hall
Level 3, The Ian Potter Southbank Centre
43 Sturt St, Southbank

Image: © Linden Gledhill