My Voice, A Trigger for Change
Author Identifier (ORCID)
Research Statement
Research Background
Substantial ‘Jazz’ compositions that are totally derived from or interrelate to a written source of text are scarce indeed, as are the music performances that accompany them. This music composition and performance research used a substantial poem from W.A. beat poet Fable Goldsmith from her recent publication ‘Bloodlines’ to produce a novel piece for the large forces of Big Band combined with Jazz Vocal Choir. Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spalding’s 2020 opera based on the Iphigenia myth would be a recent and rare example of work this research aligns with, along with the plurality of styles the Australian Art Orchestra (AAO) embodies within their programming. The piece sits within a suite of new commissions (curated by the researcher) entitled ‘Grand Designs – Jazz and the World’, and composition and performances occurred throughout 2021.
Research Contribution
This piece interrupts the conventions of how a typical jazz choir and big band are composed for and represented. The written text in turn produced musical outcomes that injected a novel sense of jazz phrasing, changing tempi and compositional form and structure. The Baroque device of ‘word painting’ is harnessed, as are more direct theatrical-like interruptions of mood and emotion (phrases that juxtapose outrage against a Dixieland style etc). The piece both in concept and artefact sustains the idea that large jazz ensemble works can be derived from a much wider source of stimuli, and thus stretches the genre.
Research Significance
The piece was competitively selected to be a part of the 2021 Perth International Jazz Festival, was presented live in Forrest Place as well as over three nights at WAAPA. ‘Grand Designs - Jazz and the World’ included other internationally noted composers such as Vanessa Perica, Matt Jodrell, Troy Roberts and Johannes Luebbers. ABC Jazz are currently investigating releasing the material for broadcast, a further indicator of national excellence.
Non-Traditional Research Output
Original Creative Work
Document Type
Non-Traditional Research Output
Date of Publication
2021
Location of the Work
Perth
School
Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts
RAS ID
43319
Event Title
Grand Designs - Jazz and The World
Event Dates
May 6-8; November 7, 2021
Event Venue
Perth International Jazz Festival
Duration
16 mins
Comments
O'Halloran, T. (2021). My Voice, A Trigger for Change [Musical Score/Musical Performance]. Perth International Jazz Festival.