I Dream a World

Author Identifier (ORCID)

Tonya Lemoh’s ORCID record ORCID Logo

Research Statement

Research Background

This album is a recorded performance of classical piano works by Schumann, Coleridge-Taylor, Kats-Chernin, Price and Lemoh. The album interrogates and explores the concept of diversity in classical music by bringing together a major canonical work by Robert Schumann and juxtaposing it with works by composers of African descent and Australian female composers. The notion of "states of childhood" is explored through different cultural perspectives by creating new associations and interconnections between traditional assumptions and unfamiliar repertoire in the listener.

Research Contribution

The program is innovative in its juxtaposition of works, and presentation of original material and world premiere recordings. These include the selection of recently published works by African American composer Florence Price, the first African American woman to have her compositions performed by a major symphony orchestra. Part of a collection of works unearthed and published in 2020, the piece "His Dream" has never been recorded commercially before this album. Elena Kats-Chernin (AO) is one of Australia's foremost composers. The album also features two newly composed original works by Tonya Lemoh which integrate material from Sierra Leonean musical heritage and the Western art music tradition. 

Research Significance

The album received positive reviews and was endorsed by ABC Classic FM and other commercial music platforms. The diversification of the canon of recorded solo piano repertoire and increasing awareness about music by Black composers is a sustained challenge to adjust Western art music assumptions and reset more traditional music frameworks. The album contributes to the extension of knowledge in classical canonical piano repertoire by programming culturally diverse music, including unfamiliar, reclaimed and newly premiered works as well as offering new material in the recently composed Two Mende Melodies by Lemoh. 

Keywords

classical piano, piano performance, recorded music, classical music, diversity in music, music performance, Western art music, Florence Price, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Elena Kats-Chernin, Robert Schumann, Australian composers, women composers, Black composers, music canon, repertoire studies, intercultural music, music interpretation, world premiere recording, Australian music, music programming, Sierra Leonean music, cultural diversity, creative practice research, contemporary composition, solo piano repertoire, music and identity

Non-Traditional Research Output

Recorded or Rendered Creative Work

Document Type

Non-Traditional Research Output

Date of Publication

2024

Medium

Audio/Visual Recording

Publisher

Brooke Green and Natalie Shea

School

Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts

RAS ID

82721

Album Name

I dream a World

Duration

61 mins

Recommended Citation

Lemoh, T. (2024). I Dream a World [Audio/Visual Recording]. https://doi.org/10.25958/1g1v-jy80

Documentation Statement

This record presents a documented representation of the research output, including the research statement and associated contextual metadata. The creative work itself is not included. Where available, external links are provided to representations of the work.

Content Type

Documentation only

DOI Statement

The DOI refers to the repository metadata record only and serves as a documentation identifier.

This record provides metadata only. No file is available.

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Link to publisher version (DOI)

10.25958/1g1v-jy80