Gemma Peacocke
(b. 1984)

Manta
Composed 2023

Gemma Peacocke is a composer from Aotearoa New Zealand. She has a particular interest in interdisciplinary projects. Her first album, Waves & Lines, which sets poems by Afghan women, was released on New Amsterdam in March 2019.

Gemma is co-founder of the Kinds of Kings composer collective which is focused on amplifying and advocating for under-heard voices in classical music. A joint Ph.D. candidate in Music and Humanistic Studies at Princeton University, Gemma previously studied with Julia Wolfe at NYU Steinhardt and at the New Zealand School of Music.

Gemma has been commissioned by the Auckland Philharmonia, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, Third Coast Percussion, PUBLIQuartet, Bang on a Can, Rubiks Collective, Stroma, and Alarm Will Sound. She lives in Princeton with her family and her biggest fan, a standard poodle called Mila. She also spends as much time as possible in New Zealand.

Gemma says the following about her piece Manta: 

During the summer months, oceanic manta rays swim in the seas around Aotearoa New Zealand, especially in the Outer Hauraki Gulf Tīkapa Moana – Te Moananui-ā-Toi. They are known for their intelligence, enormous wingspan, and graceful, acrobatic movements through the water. Manta rays must keep moving to stay alive, and will perform somersaults in order to stay in one place to feed on clouds of krill. They are usually solitary creatures but will come together in areas where there is plenty of food before going on their separate journeys. So little else is known about manta rays that it is unclear whether they are present in Aotearoa year-round or migrate here only in the warmer months.

In Māori mythology, whai (stingrays) are often portrayed as kaitiaki (guardians), and in writing Manta, I was inspired by Wiremu Grace’s story Whaitere about an enchanted stingray who visits her parents in the underworld before returning as a kaitiaki of the sea.

Instrumentation – two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, strings, and youth string orchestra

Duration – 5 minutes, 40 seconds

~ Kenneth Bean
Georg and Joyce Albers-Schonberg Assistant Conductor
Princeton Symphony Orchestra