Jenny McLeod
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Jenny McLeod ONZ (Born 1941) is a composer and former Professor of Music at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.
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[edit] Education
McLeod graduated BMus (Hons) from Victoria University in 1964, and the same year a New Zealand government bursary enabled her to study for two years in Europe with Messiaen, Stockhausen and Berio. In 1967 she became a lecturer in music at Victoria University, and Professor in 1971, a position she held until 1976.
[edit] Professorhip
During her professorship, she was influenced by Guru Maharaji's Divine Light movement, which led to her early retirement.
In June 1997 she was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to music.
She is best known for two major works, Earth and Sky and Under the Sun for large forces. She has also composed many songs and hymns. She is a great admirer of, and was greatly influenced by the music of Messiaen.
Her Seven Tone Clock Pieces were first performed by the New Zealand pianist Jeffrey Grice 1.
She lives in Pukerua Bay, Porirua, where she continues to work on music theory, especially the relationships between notes and scales.
[edit] Works
[edit] Earth and Sky
Earth and Sky is a large work for choirs and orchestra, mainly of children. It tells the story of the Māori myth of creation, notably the separation of the Earth Mother, Papa-Tū-ā-Nuku from the Sky Father, Ranginui. It uses many passages involving voices moving independently. It was first performed in Masterton in 1969, and was performed in Tauranga in 1970. In spite of its few performances, it is regarded as a landmark in New Zealand music, by reason of its large scale, local content and experimental nature.
[edit] Under the Sun
Under the Sun was commissioned by the city of Palmerston North to commemorate its centenary. It was performed twice there on the weekend of May 29-30, 1971. It tells nothing less than the history of the Sun, from the formation of the earth through the entire span of life on earth till the Sun cools. It is scored for four orchestras, a five-member rock group and two adult choirs around the perimeter of a large open auditorium, and four "floor choirs" totalling 440 children who act and dance as well as singing. Each has its own conductor, coordinated by listening through headphones to a tape of McLeod herself counting beats and bars. (Another track of the tape carries the narration.) At the end of one act the audience is invited to join in the dancing. The production involved 1000 people and took two years to bring to performance. Children from 16 schools contributed 2000 paintings of which 70 were chosen to be projected on screens above the audience. The show was produced (US: directed) by Peter Tulloch.
A recording of a whole performance was published, as well as a single of a song in popular style, Shadow People performed by Grant Bridger.
[edit] Songs and Hymns
Several of Jenny McLeod's songs were written for a "Sun Festival" in Wellington Harbour in the mid 1980s. Each is based on a different colour. One that is still performed is "Indigo II" (Light of Lights").
More recently she has written many hymns in Māori for the annual choral competitions held in the Whanganui region at Easter.
