Sally Greenaway | Composer

Around the World

Featuring a driving Latin feel with catchy melodic phrases and harmony, this fun chart (scored for a variety of ensemble types) gets a crowd up tapping their feet and wanting to dance. Versions for Big Band, Concert Band, Flexible Jazz Ensemble and Leadsheet are available. The Lead Sheet has been published in the Australian Jazz Real Book.

A Touch of Christmas

A new Australian Christmas Carol with lyrics by Tanya Kiermaier that portray Christmas in Australia. The piece centres on what Christmas means to many Australian children and Australian families - from the City to the Bush.

Aurora Musis Amica

Opening with a soundscape reminiscent of the dawn bursting into colour over a still lake, the piece unfolds into an uplifting and hopeful fanfare before fading back into a wash of colours for the final bars.

Not a traditional fanfare, the piece evokes images of Canberra, Australia located between Sydney to the North and Melbourne to the South. The opening bowed metallic percussion give a sense of that first ray of light coming from the horizon over Lake Burley Griffin and the towering National Carillon. With an ascending fifth, from G to D, the French Horn summons the sun to rise further, stirring the Australian wildlife. In its entirety, the opening is a vivid crescendo leading to a remarkably clear and rich blue sky as Solo Trumpet gives the first statement of the fanfare, with a dance-like harmonic underpinning from the woodwinds.

Not a traditional fanfare, the piece evokes images of Canberra, Australia located between Sydney to the North and Melbourne to the South. The opening bowed metallic percussion give a sense of that first ray of light coming from the horizon over Lake Burley Griffin and the towering National Carillon. With an ascending fifth, from G to D, the French Horn summons the sun to rise further, stirring the Australian wildlife. In its entirety, the opening is a vivid crescendo leading to a remarkably clear and rich blue sky as Solo Trumpet gives the first statement of the fanfare, with a dance-like harmonic underpinning from the woodwinds.
(program notes written by Eric Posner)

Here I am, contemplating the dawn again.
This early morning time has become irresistible,
a moment with my thoughts and with awesome splendor.
Often there are no words that can express the awareness
of the universe as I watch light wash over the horizon.
Dawn is friend of the muses.
Aurora musis amica.

The Blue Mountains

Inspired by the incredible landscape and beauty of the Blue Mountains in New South Wales. The opening moments from the strings describe the first light touching the far reaches of the mountains. It eventually evolves into a soaring melody when the valleys and mountains are fully drenched in the warmth of the sun, and the full beauty and of the scenery becomes a sight to behold.

Elk Branches

Featuring a 4-note melodic motif which weaves its way through a variety of instrumental colour combinations, textures and moods. The effervescent moments in this work explore the interaction of several small ensembles within the orchestra. The climax is a wild fanfare – described as ‘Nordic Triumph!’ in the score – inspired by the grand and wild forests of Scandinavia.

Light filters through the stillness of the forest,
Where the elk's antlers reach up into the dark, tangled branches...

Worlds Within Worlds

Scriabin: Etude Op.2 No.1
(orchestrated by Greenaway)

This is an orchestration of Scriabin's Etude in C# minor Op.2 No.1. The orchestration style maintains the essence of Russian Gypsy music but brings a lushness to the climax point with close attention to the inner voices and textural opportunities available in an orchestra. Transposed to C minor for playability purposes.

The Feud Suite

The Feud Suite is a collection of 7 short movements of music separated by vivid poetry. The music for this suite was originally composed for an original film sound track for the short film The Nest directed by Em Cooper (London, UK). Upon returning to Canberra, I wanted to re-work the music score into a suite for concert hall and collaborated with Canberra writer Tanya Kiermaier, whose poetry harks poignantly towards the darker side of Australia's Montague Island history, with the following evocative poetry :

"...Through the bitterness of dark, the light circles,
deep and silent as the universe.
while wind flaps and hums through snarls of kikuyu
whips round the children’s graves
and flings itself out into the spreadeagled ocean..."

Hymne Pour Le Paix

The Dear Dream of a World Without Wars