Jocelyn ‘Jo’ Kotchie is a Western Australian composer and music educator with a career spanning almost 50 years and diverse experience across many areas of music education, including early childhood and secondary school curriculum development (Steiner).
As one of Australia’s leading pedagogical composers, Jo has written more than 400 works for children of all ages, from fun songs for young children, piano and instrumental music at all levels to vocal/instrumental ensemble work for primary and high school students and both sacred and secular choral works for all sizes and styles of choir.
In writing for young people, her philosophy is simple: to create music which engages the imagination whilst also guiding the child or teen towards technical facility and challenge according to their capability.
Where music has the power to influence so many aspects of a developing child's life, Jo seeks to make that a joyous experience which is accessible to all children, not just those who are physically, intellectually or psychologically capable of managing the technical and interpretative requirements. She does this by crafting music which stimulates - rhythmically, melodically, dynamically, but most of all imaginatively, by creating a picture that the child can bring to life.
Details last updated: February 12, 2024
