Composer Mentoring

I have helped composers explore how they write for voice for several decades. I have mentored, lectured and workshopped with composers in tertiary and secondary institions, with The Song Company in their MODART projects as well as in Halcyon’s own young composer initiative, First Stones and beyond. I was a casual academic with the Sydney Conservatorium, working with performers and composers in both technical and practical aspects of writing for voice. These varied experiences made me realise I have a particular perspective, both as an artist, a director and an educator who has helped shape the creation of numerous new works in my career. READ MORE about COMPOSER CONSULTATION below.

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 new music ensemble 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’. 

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.

WHAT I OFFER

After decades of acting informally as an advisor to emerging composers and presenting seminars, masterclasses and workshops in secondary and tertiary settings, I now offer 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 your 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

TESTIMONIALS

“Jenny’s secret weapon is her absolute openness and genuine curiosity combined with peerless expertise and experience. She has an eye (and mind) for detail that is always in pursuit of the larger and most important purpose: the meaning-making of music. Her ability to ask just the right question to prompt a thought, and then respond with a pertinent and even prescient suggestion is invaluable. In any session with Jenny you will find yourselves seamlessly shifting between the little details of notation and the big needs—expression and inspiration. “

— Chris Williams, composer

“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.”

— Elliott Gyger, composer and educator

“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.”

— Associate Professor Anne Power, (Vice Chair ASME, NSW)