composers
Blackshaw, Jodie
Jodie Blackshaw grew up in the Riverina, NSW and after completing high school, studied a Bachelor of Music in Composition with Professor Larry Sitsky at the Australian National University, School of Music. Since then, she has worked teaching music to students of all ages and conducting a variety of ensembles in several different settings, from remote country centres to the inner city.
The influence of Orff-Schulwerk methodology is a significant influence of Jodie’s teaching practice and composition. In December 2012, Jodie presented the clinic ‘Get off the Podium’ alongside Dr. Mark Fonder of Ithaca College and conductor Professor Craig Kirchhoff at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Illinois. This clinic, advocating her unique compositional style and inclusive teaching approach to ensemble, offered directors opportunities to explore musical elements other than melody and harmony. Jodie is passionate about inspiring teachers and musicians to be active in the music making process.
Jodie resides in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia with her husband David and daughter Matilda and works full-time as a composer and appears as a guest clinician and adjudicator for band festivals throughout Australia. Jodie is fanatical about producing quality, meaningful works for band. She desires that her music not just be “another piece, but an educational and spiritual journey for both the players and the director.”