Mona Foma curator and bass player for Violent Femmes Brian Ritchie has been honored with an APRA AMCOS Art Award recognizing his contribution to the Australian music sector as a performer, curator and mentor.
The Milwaukee born musician migrated to Australia in 2008 and became an Australian citizen in 2012.
Brian became curator of the first Mona Foma in Hobart in 2009 and has curated every event since.
While still active with Violent Femmes, he has also recorded and toured with members of Midnight Oil as The Break.
2019 Art Music Awards winners list
Richard Gill Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music
The Necks
Vocal / Choral Work of the Year
Title: The Howling Girls
Composer: Damien Ricketson; with Adena Jacobs (director)
Performer: Sydney Chamber Opera: Jane Sheldon (soprano); artists from The House That Dan Built (ensemble)
Jazz Work of the Year
Title: Trombone Song Cycle
Composer: Joshua Kyle and Andrew Murray
Performer: Joshua Kyle (voice), James Greening, James Macauley, Jordan Murray & Adrian Sherriff (trombones) with Andrew Murray (conductor)
Instrumental Work of the Year
Title: Ignis
Composer: Mary Finsterer
Performer: James Wannan (viola d’amore) and Christopher Pidcock (cello)
Orchestral Work of the Year
Title: Implacable Gifts (Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra)
Composer: Carl Vine
Performer: Kathryn Stott (piano), Piers Lane (piano), West Australian Symphony Orchestra with Rory Macdonald (conductor)
Publisher: Hal Leonard/Faber
Performance of the Year
Performer: Speak Percussion with Jessica Aszodi
Title: Atlas of the Sky
Composer: Liza Lim; texts by Bei Dao and Eliot Weinberger
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing MGB obo Ricordi Berlin
Award for Excellence by an Organisation
• Zephyr Quartet for their 2018 activities and 20 years of sustained contribution to the local, national and international arts scene
Award for Excellence by an Individual
• Lyn Williams for significant contribution to the creation and performance of choral music in Australia
Award for Excellence in Music Education
• West Australian Symphony Orchestra for Crescendo, El Sistema-inspired free music education program
Award for Excellence in a Regional Area
• Steel City Strings for activities in 2018 and commitment to new Australian music
Award for Excellence in Experimental Music
• Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music for their ongoing contribution
Award for Excellence in Jazz
• Ross McHenry for recording, international touring, residencies and commissions
Winners of State Awards are determined through a review process assessing all applications received for each state across all Award categories.
2019 ART MUSIC AWARDS – STATE and TERRITORY AWARDS
ACT Award for Excellence by an Organisation
Canberra International Music Festival for sustained creative excellence, exceptional growth and cultivation of Australian music
NSW Award for Excellence in Jazz
Ellen Kirkwood for [A]part and other projects and activities in 2018
NT Award for Excellence in a Regional Area
Warren H. Williams, Michael Sollis and Barkly Arts for One Sky Many Stories, inspiring audiences as they explore their relationship to the night sky, Indigenous culture and the world around us
QLD Award for Excellence in Experimental Music
Leah Barclay for Listening Underwater, a large-scale experimental music and acoustic ecology project
SA Award for Excellence by an Individual
Gabriella Smart for activity in 2018
TAS Award for Excellence by an Individual
Brian Ritchie for sustained contribution to the Australian music sector as a performer, curator and mentor
VIC Award for Excellence by an Individual
Cat Hope for leadership in the composition, performance and education of new music in Australia
WA Jazz Work of the Year
Daniel Susnjar for Onward and Upward
2019 ART MUSIC AWARDS
Monday 19 August @ 5.45pm
Great Hall of the University of Sydney
With host Jonathan Biggins and music curation by Barney McAll
