Stephen Marsh - on Diapsalmata, Singing & Home
Geelong-based baritone Stephen Marsh
When you hear the voice of exciting, young, Geelong-based baritone Stephen Marsh, you experience a richness of sound and musicianship that belies his years. The flexible expressivity of his sound led composer Kym Alexandra Dillon to feature Stephen as the baritone soloist in her acclaimed new work Diapsalmata: Portrait of a Self, which will have its first Geelong performance with Forest Collective on July 15.
Kym describes Diapsalmata as “occupying a shadowy place between music and theatre”, so Stephen’s musical and dramatic skills, honed on the operatic stages of Australia and Europe, make him an ideal soloist for this work. But there is a deeper level to his connection with Kym’s composition. Stephen also went to high school with Kym – at Christian College, Geelong. It is appropriate then, that this performance of Diapsalmata will take place at their old alma mater – where the lives in music first began to take shape.
Telling the story through fragments of text from the Danish philosopher Kirkegaard, Kym describes her work as “a personal swan song to the abstract ‘self’ that I had forced myself to live as, in order to survive during my pre-transition life… but on a broader level it’s a very human story about survival, identity, mental health and more.” It is work of great vulnerability, wisdom and upliftment, that is both deeply moving and gently humorous.
For Stephen, it is both joyous and humbling to be able to perform Diapsalmata. “It’s an incredible privilege that Kym has placed her trust in me to be the voice of this work”, he says. “That’s what I love most about singing it – to help tell her story through her eyes. I have had so much respect and admiration for Kym as a musician and a person for such a long time. She’s an incredible pianist and music-maker. I have always thought that.”
Stephen is also excited to be performing this work among the community where he and Kym grew up.
“Geelong is my home. It will always be my home. To have the opportunity to share this music with my family and friend is wonderful – especially for those who can’t easily travel up to Melbourne, where most of my performances have been. It’s also really special to perform this work at Christian College, where Kym and I went to high school.”
Stephen’s connection to his home town has helped keep him psychologically grounded through his recent overseas travels to continue his musical development.
“I went to Berlin and London for some coaching and auditions. I wanted to learn from Tania Bingaly, Thomas Johnson and Paul Keightley at the Berliner Staatsoper, working on the opera Capriccio by Richard Strauss, which I’ll be performing with Victorian Opera later this year. In particular, I wanted to work on the German text of the opera, which is very subtle and nuanced. I also coached with Caroline Dowdle at the Royal Academy of Music, London, after having previously worked with her in 2021, when I performed at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland.”
While the musical and technical knowledge Stephen received from this trip has been invaluable from a professional perspective, it is the self-knowledge and personal growth over this time that has given him the most benefit.
“Every time I go overseas, I learn more about myself. Like, learning how I can best cope in stressful situations, or becoming more comfortable with myself when travelling alone.”
Fittingly, that wisdom and self-knowledge has carried back across into Stephen’s musical life as well.
“I’ve learned to be flexible, and expect the unexpected – to not rush the process”, he says. “Things will be what they will be. You can go in with a set of goals, and outcomes you want to achieve, but things change. When working on Capriccio, the vocal coaches in Berlin stripped my German language skills back to their bare bones! The process was different from what I anticipated, but that was ok – it’s now given me a really solid foundation.”
“I’ve also learned to trust my gut and be curious about where it leads me. It feels quote raw to say this, but before travelling to Europe, I wasn’t feeling great about my voice and was having some troubles with it. I knew something wasn’t right, but I tried to not judge myself and the circumstances. Instead, I chose to be curious about why things weren’t working, and let that curiosity lead me to rediscover that feeling of everything working comfortably.”
“I’m not scared to admit these things publicly,” Stephen says with determination. “We are all human and everybody goes through vocal issues from time to time. But to approach it with curiosity… that’s a powerful thing. Curiosity is a powerful word.”
Stephen’s journey is only just beginning, but it has already taken him to amazing places. But it is has also made him more determined to maintain his connection to his home town.
“Geelong is an amazing place. I’ve always loved living here, and it will always be my home. So to share what I’ve learned, where I have been, and what I have done over the last few years with my home community is really important to me. I’m so excited to be able to have the opportunity to share this special work.”
Diapsalmata: Portrait of a Self will be performed on Saturday 15 July 2pm at the R W Gibson Centre, Christian College 129-135 Pigdons Road, Geelong, VIC, Wadawurrung Country.
Standard - first release $28 / second release $34 / third release $38
Seniors & Frontline workers (health, customer service, education workers) - $25/$27/$32
Concession (Concession card, pensioner) - $20/$25/$28
Student - $15/$18/$20
Group of 4 - $110
Under 15 - $15
