Heather Shannon: Embracing what doesn't fit in

A dynamic musician who cannot be constrained by a single musical genre, Heather Shannon burst into the public consciousness as part of the internationally renowned independent rock band The Jezabels, performing in venues from the Sydney Opera House to the O2 Arena in London, as well as at the legendary Glastonbury. Since that period, she’s been composing music in the classical genre, having worked with orchestras such as ACO Collective, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, and the Metropolitan Orchestra, and it’s with The Metropolitan Orchestra that she will be performing her latest work, Strange Roses for Synthesizer and Orchestra, for its world premiere on Sunday August 20 at the Marrickville Town Hall. In this conversation, Heather talks candidly about how a cancer diagnosis was the impetus for a change in her career direction, talks in detail about the inspiration behind her latest work, as well as giving some inside stories of the creation and evolution of The Jezabels. She speaks with great insight about her diverse musical choices, and her compositional style and techniques.