In Search Of...

Abstract

This dissertation presents a trilogy of recital programs: In Search of a Voice, In Search of Connection, and In Search of Her, each exploring music as both medium and metaphor for inquiry, identity, and transformation. Framed through the evolving roles of the 21st-Century musician - researcher, artist, and producer, the series engages a multidisciplinary and cross-cultural approach to programming. Thus, the program notes accompanying each recital adopt distinct tones, each shaped by the lens of a different role. In Search of a Voice is a lecture-recital exploring the life, music, and spirit of New Zealand composer Jenny McLeod (1941–2022). Tracing McLeod’s artistic journey through her studies with Messiaen, Boulez, and Stockhausen, we see her adventurous exploration of post-tonal systems, her profound spiritual searching, and her deep engagement with Māori culture. I highlight McLeod’s broad stylistic range from a post-tonal song cycle, to devotional Māori hymns and a jazz-inflected chamber work, while reflecting on her philosophy of music as a continuum of endless curiosity. The works performed here are from her song cycle Under Southern Skies with text by Anne Powell, the collection 9 Maori God Songs, and Suite: Jazz Themes for flute, clarinet/saxophone, viola and piano In Search of Connection brings together voices and instruments in a vivid exploration of bonds between people and music. Every piece on the program is an arrangement of existing material. For example, folk songs that were once sung unaccompanied - now arranged specifically for the concert stage, such as New Zealand folk song Pōkarekare ana, my own arrangement of the Chinese folk song Molihua, Scottish sea shanty Ten Thousand Miles Away, and African-American Spiritual Ev’ry Time I feel the Spirit. Instrumental explorations include a dynamic orchestral dance, Maurice Ravel’s La valse, unfurled through the intimacy of piano four hands, and Li Zi Li’s virtuosic work for violin and piano, Feng Shou Yu Ge (Fishermen’s Harvest Song), expanded upon a folk tune that the composer heard in Shanwei, China. The program’s curation reflects my personal ties to each style, culture or collaborative partner, with spoken introductions and narrations weaving a thread of connection between the pieces, inviting listeners into a journey both familiar and freshly imagined. In Search of Her is a multidisciplinary, immersive live concert experience exploring the complexities of womanhood and humanity through the story of Eve. This performance weaves together two song cycles: La chanson d’Ève by Gabriel Fauré and Eve-Song by Jake Heggie, performed by a singer, pianist, and dancer in an immersive space created by projection design, lighting, and soundscape. The concert delves into themes of awe, power, oppression, desire, and loss, creating a bridge between the past and present, between us and her. The intimate setting invites the audience into the Garden of Eden, fostering connection and conversation through a sensory-rich presentation.