Symphony No. 1
Leunig's Prayer Book
Composed for Wind Symphony. Grade 6.
Commissioned by the Australian Wind Band Commissioning Consortium.
"Jodie Blackshaw’s Symphony No. 1 (2019) carries the subtitle Leunig’s Prayer Book, a genuflection towards those much-loved cartoons and verses of Michael Leunig, in this case four poem-prayers reflecting on the arrival of the four seasons. In terms of scope and aspiration, Blackshaw’s 25 minute symphony is a major work, inflating Leunig’s endearing line-drawings and affecting poetry to almost Mahlerian proportions."
Vincent Plush, Limelight Magazine March 2019