Composition and Improvisation

Explanations

My compositions often involve improvistorary processes for the voice and piano, in which I utilise improvisation as a compositional device, so the boundary between these practices can sometimes become blurred. I have explored the ultimate potentials of my 3 octave vocal range, and since childhood have developed a repertoire of extended vocal techniques involving microtones and atonal textures,inspired by the sounds around me ranging from birds, my toys and the opera singers from my father’s records. My works can therefore transform quickly between genres of jazz, scat, bel canto and microtonal.

As a pianist I have studied classical piano from age five and at this early stage also had a strong interest in improvisation..

Jean Schwarz and myself spent several days exploring the connection between voice improvisation and technology , with both improvising on our respective instruments of voice and music technology (pitch shifting not widely utilised, the range is my natural vocal range),

The Jo Truman/Jean Schwarz project, Celia Studios, Paris France

Jean Schwarz and myself spent several days exploring the connection between voice improvisation and technology , with both improvising on our respective instruments of voice and music technology (pitch shifting not widely utilised, the range is my natural vocal range),

Composed works involving structured improvisational processes

Instrumentation: Voice, Piano, Yedaki.

This work was conceived during a time of homesickness during the long period of living in Europe. It consists of seven sequences and is inspired by memories of a year long sojourn through the Northern Territory of Australia. The seven sequences create a sound map of my internal and external experiences and responses to the environment with the voice, piano, yedaki and text, tracing feelings of despair, grief and transformation and resolution.

Horspiel commission -Audioakustisches Kunst, WDR3 Koln – 30 Mins

This work was composed, performed and produced whilst I was living in Europe, and draws on memories of the year I spent living and traveling in the Northern Territory of Australia. Inner and external landscapes are transcribed into voice, piano and sound. Exec Producer Klaus Schoning. Electroacoustic technician: Benedict Bitzenhoffer

*Relocating Self” -Instrumentation: microtonal vocal techniques , piano and found farm sounds inspired by my time of living on a farm in Taralga, NSW.

“Solitudes” – this piece is inspired by a poem and the life of my gg grandfather, the esteemed 19C ornithologist, natural history illustrator and writer, William MacGillivray . Instrumentation: layered extended microtonal techniques, looped treated bagpipes.

“Banff Dreaming”:- This work was created during the Sound and Vision Residency at the Banff Centre, Canada. It draws on the notion of the colonising impact of tourism and references traditional stories and beliefs of the original tribes who lived in the region and features the voices of other artists in residence.

“Flying by Moonlight” : this piece is based on a letter to a father from a crew member explaining the circumstances of his son’s death, the pilot of a Lancaster who died after being shot down by enemy fire on a military expedition.

Piano improvisatioN

Piano improvisation @ MONA 2024, part of a larger performance for piano and voice on outdoor stage

This work was conceived during a time of homesickness during the long period of living in Europe. It consists of seven sequences and is inspired by memories of a year long sojourn through the Northern Territory of Australia. The seven sequences create a sound map of my internal and external experiences and responses to the environment with the voice, piano, yedaki and text, tracing feelings of despair, grief and transformation and resolution.

Commissioned works for Radio

“Cell Songs” (The Listening Room, ABC Classic FM)

“CELL SONGS” is a 52 min radiophonic work commissioned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) consisting of 3 abstract soundscapes based on narratives and notions surrounding pre–colonial, colonial and contemporary post colonial Australian life. it imagines the sounds and pace of life before white colonisation, moving onto the Industrial Revolution and its consequences in Britain, the exportation of convict/slaves and the resulting impact on indigenous Australia and the environment and finally moving to the digital age. Each sequence begins with different methods of measuring time-water drops, an old mechanical clock, a digital clock. For this work I traveled to the Northern Territory of Australia where I interviewed the poet -elder “Big” Bill Neidji (who speaks of the Dreamtime and laments the destruction of the natural environment)and recorded environmental sounds unique to this area. Also featured in the work are studio recordings of the koori storyteller Pauline McLeod, the music and singing of Aboriginal artist and actor Gullpillil, narrated written accounts of convict sentences by Paul Carter, sung ballads by Phil Minton and stories and the music and improvisations of guitarist Fred Frith and myself, singing “the voice of the earth”. Executive Producer: Andrew McLennan.

Other (unlinked) works for radio include “The House in the Sky” (The Listening Room, ABC) , “The Mirrored Cry” (The Listening Room, ABC) and the “Extreme Throats” Series (for “Voice week” ABC Classic FM based on my MMus thesis research on Extended Vocal techniques.