Jenny McLeod was one of the most naturally gifted of all New Zealand composers of her generation. She could read music at age five, and, before attending University, was essentially self-taught. In the opinion of one of her colleagues, she has always had the intelligence and ability to make a success of any enterprise she put her mind to. Clearly one of the major paths in her life has been a search for spiritual meaning. Whether through the cosmic questions posed in Under the Sun (her devotional rock music for the Divine Light Mission), her writings for the Christian communities to whom she has been attached in her later years, or her choice to retire to a quiet, almost meditative life-style. Something of her strength of character may be judged from her embracing of the “Tone Clock Theory” as an intellectual as well as musical challenge.
