Georgia Denham

PhD thesis: Embodied technique for contemporary composition practice.

My PhD focuses on the ways in which the composer connects with techniques and how they become embodied within one’s compositional practice. Reflecting on my own music and by exploring the work of others, I hope to find a greater understanding of how the ‘composer’s toolkit’ is built and how to better improve my own. It is my hope that this can in turn lead to a holistic, contemporary approach to composition teaching, which preserves traditional skills for future generations of artists. 

As a composer, I believe in the power of traditional techniques (such as orchestration and counterpoint) to expand creative vocabulary and artistic potentials. However, for many there are barriers in accessing these skills, ranging from socio-economic difficulties, specific learning needs, to teaching bias. Through my PhD, I hope to overcome my own difficulties in aquiring these skills and improve accessibility for others. 

Who or what inspired you to pursue your research interests?
Experiences as a composer struggling with traditional techniques, particularly owing to my dyslexia and non-traditional route to contemporary music. There is a growing separation from these skills in contemporary composition teaching, emerging from an understandable hope to make contemporary music more accessible. I believe that the traditional can be accessible, and that to avoid teaching these techniques is to deny many artists these skills, and only preserve them for a privileged few.