I have always been drawn to the ocean. From the earliest days of my childhood I have loved the beach. Swimming through cool aqua waters, snorkelling over dazzling sea life, riding the swirling waves on my boogie board or more recently plunging to an underwater world scuba diving; all have given me joy and wonder. As I’ve grown, my appreciation of the ocean has deepened. I am in awe of its power and beauty as well as its vitality to the earth.
The title, Deep Calls to Deep, references Psalm 42 – a deep spiritual cry of the human spirit to God. “The deep” can be both a place of mystifying beauty and frightening torment. My work aurally expresses these different elements of the ocean - the still calm; the playful, sparkling waves; a frightening, gigantic storm; the mysterious, eerie world beneath the surface and the mighty, powerful waves.

Premiered on 13th March 2021 by Ku-Ring-Gai Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Paul Terracini.

Deep Calls To Deep

Mum and Dad encouraged me to play piano when I was 8 years old and I loved it! It was my first avenue of musical expression and where my love for music began. It's where I first composed pieces when I was little and as Mum would say, "where I let out my feelings when I was cross". I thought it would be fitting to, in my final semester at the Conservatorium, write a piece for the instrument that lead me to first fall in love with music. I wanted to write it for my mum, who is my constant support and encouragement with any musical venture I pursue and who reminds me of the immense value of creative expression. Thanks Mum.

For Mum

I wrote Spirit Dance following my visit to the "Jukebox Jewbox! A Century on Shellac and Vinyl" exhibition at the Sydney Jewish Museum. I was amazed to discover the extensive impact Jewish culture has had on all genres music. Just as one group of people influenced many areas of music - in my piece, singular motifs influence the whole work. Small parts make up the large tapestry.

Premiered in October 2019 by Geist String Quartet at Sydney Jewish Museum.

Spirit Dance

Dawn 'til Dusk in Kosciuszko is inspired by one of my favourite places in the world - The Snowy Mountains. A few years ago in autumn, I walked up to a place called Porcupine Rocks to watch the sunrise. As I sat on that cliff top at dawn, overlooking the Thredbo valley, a pink hue on the horizon surrounded me. All was still. All was quiet... Then, in a moment of breath, the sun’s rays hit the rock; dazzling sunlight races across the landscape. The day has begun. Frogs and insects wake, calling their song to the morning; birds soar across the ranges, arcing gracefully through the wide sky; skinks creep cautiously onto the stony granite to warm their leathery bodies, while the last of summer’s alpine daisies reach for the warming daylight. As clear skies are broken, the day darkens. In the mountains, the weather changes rapidly. The alps, once glazed in sunlight become stark. Shifting clouds cast their shadows across the terrain. The chill of winter beckons as the temperature drops. A day in the mountains is full of beauty, movement, drama and vast skies. As the sun sets, the day comes to a close. The pink and orange hues of dawn return to the horizon. A cycle is complete. The animals ready themselves for night. The day is done.
Dawn 'til Dusk in Kosciuszko is my impression of an autumn day in the Snowy Mountains. As you listen, I hope you are transported and can sense both the intimacy and the vastness, the beauty and the magnitude, of this special place in Australia.
This piece was written for the Cybec 21st Century Australian Composers’ Program and premiered by Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Carlo Antonioli at the program’s showcase on 28th January 2023.

Dawn 'til Dusk In Kosciuszko

Music is sound projected onto the empty canvas that is silence. Silence lets the music breathe and provides a frame for creative auditory expression. However, it is the sound that understandably receives most of the attention. In "Framing Silence", I explore the different types of silences possible when framed by different musical gestures. The audience will experience silence that is full of tension! Silence that is full of peace. There will also be moments where there is silence in different registers or families of instruments; where the instruments that are playing frame those that are not. I hope you enjoy both the sound and the silence.
This recording was performed by the Sydney Conservatorium of Music's Modern Music Ensemble as part of their Greenway series on 30th August 2018.

Framing Silence

In January 2018 I went travelling in South America. My piece Salt to the Senses was originally inspired by my feelings and experiences on this trip. As I travelled through South America I was overwhelmed by the vibrancy of the people, their culture and their land. I wanted my piece to be vibrant, sparkling and bright; full of movement and wonder. My choice to feature glockenspiel and pizzicato strings reflects this as I feel both have a vivid and bright timbre. The polyrhythms found in the pizzicato strings also convey the constant movement and rhythm of South America. The spectacle of the Andes mountain range surrounding the challenging Inca Trail is captured by the dramatic and exciting
concluding section of my piece. Salt to the Senses sonically captures my South American experience.
In regards to my title, Salt to the Senses my Mum had always described her overseas travels as a salt to the senses; after going to South America I understood what she meant. The rich, exciting feeling of being in a foreign country - especially one with a very different culture - your senses are on high alert. Everything looks, sounds, smells, feels, and tastes different. Everything, is salty. Humorously however, as you may have noticed, the phrase my Mum was using was indeed “assault to the senses” rather than “salt to the senses”. Regardless, I chose to stick with “salt to the senses” because I think with its positive inflection it better described my flavourful experience. 
This was my first attempt at writing an orchestral piece and I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I am very grateful to the KPO for workshopping my piece! It has been an amazing opportunity.

This piece was workshopped and recorded in November 2018 by Ku-Ring-Gai Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Paul Terracini, as part of the KPO Composer Workshop of that year.

Salt to the Senses

Salt To The Senses

"Breath" received 2nd place in the Australian Flute Festivals Composition Competition. The theme for the competition was "Taking Flight".

Air is needed to fly. When we breathe we are taking in air and breath is an essential part to playing the flute, as it is with flying. This is my connection to "Taking Flight". My piece begins at the most basic level - producing air sounds on the flute.
Throughout the work, the music "takes flight" as it ascends through the registers using varying techniques. On the way the music falls a few times, however by the end, it is soaring effortlessly.

This was performed on 7th of July 2019 by Lamorna Nightingale (bass flute) and Anna Rutkowska-Schock (piano).

Breath

Scarlet Sculptures is a piece born from a desire to make the audience “feel” the music as well as hear it.  Although it is probably the aspiration of most composers to have their music “move” their audience,  I wanted to intentionally incorporate this element into my creative process. I believe it is crucial for the audience to connect to music personally and holistically, activating their inner emotions and experiences. I wanted to write a piece that held both fear and sorrow. To me this work unfolds as a story. When I was writing it, I could imagine visuals vividly. There are moments of calm, however these are often tainted with suspense. Moments of intense drama contrast with playfulness. Scarlet is a dramatic and intense colour. Likewise, the work creates dramatic and intense aural sculptures for the audience to experience – hence the name Scarlet Sculptures. I hope you enjoy it, and perhaps as you’re listening, think up your own story to accompany the music.

Premiered on 23rd March 2019 by the Penrith Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Paul Terracini. This opportunity was granted after winning the PSO Young Composer Prize in 2018.

Scarlet Sculptures

LYRICS
Verse 1
A king is coming – what to expect?
A palace, wealth, a life of grandeur?
What shall his crown be? How shall he rule?
Who is this man to be king?

Pre-Chorus
But through the darkness a light has shone
But through the shadow of death a light has dawned

Chorus
The King of the world – born in a stable
To a poor virgin girl, how divinely radical
No beauty no majesty, yet God’s only chosen one
Our saviour has entered the world

Verse 2
The king has come, rejected by the world
Ruling in service through ultimate love
Laying down his life, bearing our sin and shame
giving hope to the broken, bringing dead to life

Pre-Chorus
How wonderous, how divine 
How radical, how profound 

Chorus
The King of the world – born in a stable
To a poor virgin girl, how divinely radical
No beauty no majesty, yet God’s only chosen one
Our saviour has entered the world

Post Chorus
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah Lord

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah Lord

The angels sing for joy
The shepherds stand amazed
All in awe of this king

We sing praise the Lord
We say thank you God
We shall worship the king

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah Lord

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah Lord

Tag 
What precious gift belongs to us 
What precious news is ours to give

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah Lord

The Radical King

For as long as she can remember, Naomi has been moved by the all-encompassing power of music. Her desire now as a composer, is to create music which will affect audiences similarly. Naomi graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2019 with a Bachelor of Music Composition. Naomi has written many chamber works for ensembles such as Sydney Conservatorium’s Modern Music Ensemble and Geist String Quartet. In 2018 she was selected to write for Ku-ring-gai Philharmonic Orchestra under the tutelage of Matthew Hindson AM and wrote Salt to the Senses - inspired by her travels through South America. In 2019 Naomi was the recipient of the Penrith Symphony Orchestra's Young Composer Prize, writing Scarlet Sculptures. In 2019 Naomi also received 2nd place in the Australian Flute Festival's Composition Competition with her piece Breath for bass flute and piano. In 2020 Naomi received Highly Commended in the Flute Society of NSW’s composition competition for her work Cerulean Plunge for flute and piano. In 2021 the KPO commissioned Naomi to write Deep Calls to Deep, her third orchestral work which was premiered in March 2021 and again performed by KPO at their 50th anniversary concert in December 2022. In 2022 Naomi was selected to participate in the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s Cybec 21st Century Australian Composers Program for which she wrote Dawn ‘til Dusk in Kosciuszko which is being premiered by MSO in January 2023. In 2022 Naomi was also the winner of the under 30 emerging composer prize in Matt Withers’ Australian Music Composition Competition for which she has written a work for guitar duo to be premiered later in 2023. 

Naomi’s inspiration is deeply connected to her emotional sensitivities, with compositions often finding their genesis in various experiential sensations such as Australian landscapes, scuba diving, home and family. Her work ranges from intensely passionate and colourful moments to gentle fragments echoing the ethereal. 

Naomi’s belief that all people possess an innate potential for musical appreciation shapes her desire to create music that reaches and impacts all who listen.

Naomi Dodd

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