JENNIFER TRYNES
Born in Sydney in 1966 Jennifer Trynes was educated at James Ruse
Agricultural High School and the University of Sydney where she completed a BA degree with
a double major in Music; her special interests were Composition and Aboriginal Performing
Arts.
In keeping with her life-long interests in agriculture and the
environment, Jennifer lives on a property on the mid-North Coast. She has undertaken a major project to regenerate
the old-growth forest on her property. Jennifer
finds inspiration in the ancient presence of the rainforest, with its rushing waterfall,
its abundant wildlife, its overwhelming sense of antiquity.
Being ecologically sensitive, Jennifer follows an almost totally
self-sufficient lifestyle, using only tank water and solar power to help reduce her
family
environmental footprint.
Jennifers interest in music education and composition
began during her school days; even before her graduation she had already built up a
well-reputed private studio. In 1988 she
also commenced teaching piano, theory and musicianship at Trinity Grammars Summer
Hill campus and Strathfield Campus where she still maintains a studio.
With over 20 years successful teaching experience,
Jennifer has evolved a system of carefully graded pieces comprising 5 books, entitled
Progressive Piano Series. These
books lead the students step by step from absolute beginner to a level where they can move
smoothly to AMEB and other examining studies or continue playing simply for pleasure,
building on the solid foundation provided in her piano series.
The little clown,
which is included in the new Piano Series 16 - Grade
2, is described by the AMEB as follows:
This work is part of a rich tradition of Australian piano
writing for young student pianists. Other notable representatives of this tradition
include Ray Agnew, Alfred Hill, Miriam Hyde, Dulcie Holland and Larry Sitsky.
In their handbook to Piano
Series 16 (pre/1/2) the AMEB discussed her Progressive
Piano Series:
Australian composer Jennifer Trynes has composed a number of piano works for student
pianists of all levels. Her Progressive Piano Series is, like Bartoks Mikrokosmos, a
graded series of pedagogically oriented compositions
in which Trynes stated
aim is to fill a need for lively and varied music with a fresh, modern approach for
students of today.
Students proceed eagerly from piece to piece, learning a new concept or skill from each
one. They enjoy the challenge of completing each book, and look forward to moving on to
the next colour in the series, a most useful tool for maintaining their
interest and enthusiasm. The music is both challenging and appealing to the young learner
and the books are well-presented with illustrations by Anthony J. Tallon that reflect
Jennifers long-standing interest in Australian wildlife.
However, Jennifers compositions are not limited to music for
the early learner. She has produced a wide
variety of piano pieces, including a book of preludes, and seven works in an album
entitled Contrasts, among others. Many
of these compositions are suitable for performance by advanced students, at HSC
examinations, eisteddfods or as AMEB extra lists. As
with all her works, Jennifers more advanced pieces extend the performer: they are not only technically challenging but
interpretatively demanding. Both precision
and expressive maturity are required to realise their potential.
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