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songwriting & A cappella arranging

Original Songs & Vocal Harmony settings for choirs

Original songs are available as commissioned works for bands, theatre, dance productions as well as smaller acapella groups. Arranging and vocal harmony settings are also available for choirs, ensembles and bands wanting original or new arrangements. I work with original artists as part of their music production team, and can collaborate as needed on small and large music and singing projects. My original compositions are also used for my own performance groups, samples of which can be listened to on this page or purchased from my resources page as they get added.

Original Songwriting for A cappella groups, theatre and bands:
from the serious to the quirky

Songwriting

Original songs and compositions

Melodically, my songs draw on a broad base of folk, world, classical and jazz. A love a great songwriters like Elvis Costello, Suzanne Vega and Jacques Brel has turned what was originally a desire to write poetry into a need write songs.

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My first commission was for the theatre piece Blood Orange  (1993) where I wrote songs to lyrics by poet Noelle Janaczewska which had a combined cast of professionals and amateur actors.  More recently, I have written for The Third Voice with 2 original songs on an EP coming out in May 2024.

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Burning was the first song I wrote for Blindman’s Holiday. I’ve also put here the collaborative composition Airport Lounge from the album of the same name. In this case, I wrote the lyrics which pianist Jane Butler later put to a salsa style tune and arrangement. Contact me if you would be interested in collaborating on an original vocal performance piece.

Burning by Gemma Turner excerpt 2written by Gemma Turner sung by Blindman's Holiday
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Airport Lounge excerpt Lyrics Gemma Turner Music Jane Butler sung by Blindman's Holiday.mpLyrics by Gemma Turner, Music by Jane Butler
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vocal harmony arrangements

A cappella settings for vocal groups

Vocal arrangements that range from the seriously edgy to the quirky and humorous. I arrange for my own professional groups like The Third Voice to amateur ensembles of all sizes.

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I am a specialist in arranging for unaccompanied voices (also known as a cappella) from diverse folk songs to jazz to pop. Contact me if you'd like to  commission an arrangement for your group. I can produce scores and/or midi guide tracks.

Oh Freedom - Trad African-Am All parts Trad Arr Gemma Turner
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Oh Freedom - Soprano partTrad Arr Gemma Turner
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Oh Freedom - BassTrad Arr Gemma Turner
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