The APRA AMCOS Art Music Awards have been announced for 2020.
The Art Music Awards acknowledge the achievements of composers, performers and educators in the genres of contemporary classical music, jazz, improvisation, sound art and experimental music. The 2020 Awards included several new and restructured categories, in tune with the constantly evolving art music landscape.
The inaugural National Luminary Award for an Individual, for sustained contribution over several years, was presented to Dharug composer Chris Sainsbury for initiating and driving the Ngarra-Burria: First Nations Composers program, a critically important project. According to the judging panel: “Chris’ work over the past five years has had a national impact in both training emerging First Nations composers and redefining their role and future within Australian art music.”
The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra was the recipient for the Luminary Award for an Organisation, for long-term commitment offering professional development for Australian composers and musicians, as well as promoting gender equity through opportunities for female conductors. The TSO’s support of Australian music was also evident in this year’s finalists list.
The Performance of the Year Awards – for the first time presented in two categories – were a show of strength by women in particular. Western Australian percussionist Louise Devenish won the Notated Music category with her program ‘Sheets of Sound’; while Sandy Evans’s Bridge of Dreams team (Sandy Evans, Shubha Mudgal, Aneesh Pradhan and Sirens Big Band) took home the inaugural Performance of the Year: Jazz/Improvised Music Award. Devenish is also winner of the Luminary Award for Western Australia.
The new Work of the Year: Dramatic category made Awards history in having two winners. The judging panel unanimously agreed to award two very different but equally outstanding operatic works: Elliott Gyger and Pierce Wilcox’s Oscar and Lucinda, based on Peter Carey’s novel; and Cat Hope’s Speechless – a wordless opera with a graphic notation score generated from the 2014 Human Rights Commission Report about children in immigration detention.
Bassist and composer Linda May Han Oh continued Western Australia’s strong performance by taking home the Art Music Award for Work of the Year: Jazz for her Aventurine – “a pinnacle of what jazz can be in Australia today” according to the judging panel.
The new Award for Work of the Year: Electroacoustic/Sound Art went to Melbourne-based Matthias Schack-Arnott’s Everywhen, praised by the panel as “stunning in conception and in execution”.
In the new Work of the Year: Choral category Paul Stanhope’s work to Steve Hawke’s text, I am Martuwarra, was acknowledged as “a texturally varied and interesting work that harnesses the richness of the multi-layered choral forces to great effect”. Commissioned by Gondwana Choirs, the work’s title refers to the Fitzroy River in the Kimberley Region.
James Ledger’s Viola Concerto won the Award for Work of the Year: Large Ensemble, the judges calling it “a highly sophisticated work with its innovative harmonic language and beautiful synergy between all its elements”. The Work of the Year: Chamber Music went to Chris Dench’s extensive solo piano composition passing bells:day, “an extraordinary contribution to the repertoire”.
The Award for Excellence in Music Education went to Netanela Mizrahi and Guwanbal Gurruwiwi for the Djari Project. A finalist in two categories this year, the project is a compositional collaboration drawing on the traditional knowledge and songlines from the Galpu community of Galiwinku/Elcho Island, bringing together composers, musicians, music educators and students throughout the Northern Territory.
The Award for Excellence in Experimental Music was presented to the Music Box Project for ‘Shallow Listening’, a concert experience demonstrating ability to facilitate, curate and perform experimental music at the highest level.
The Award for Excellence in a Regional Area went to Gillian Howell and Tura New Music for the Fitzroy Valley New Music Project, a third and final year of residencies developing music projects through community collaboration and open exchange of ideas.
Composer and sound artist, Dr Ros Bandt formally accepted her Richard Gill Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music, announced in August, and presented at the ceremony by Dr. Leah Barclay.
The 10th annual Art Music Awards were co-hosted by Jonathan Biggins, Dr Lou Bennett AM and Zela Margossian, with performances by Robin Fox & Erkki Veltheim, Louise Devenish & Thea Rossen, Linda May Han Oh with Fabian Almazan & Ben Vanderwal, Melanie Mununggurr-Williams and Beatrice Lewis. The performance program was curated by Barney McAll.
APRA AMCOS and the AMC congratulate all the 2020 Art Music Awards winners on their outstanding achievements.
2020 ART MUSIC AWARDS WINNERS
Richard Gill Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music
Dr Ros Bandt
Award for Excellence in Music Education
Netanela Mizrahi and Guwanbal Gurruwiwi for the Djari Project
Award for Excellence in a Regional Area
Gillian Howell and Tura New Music for the Fitzroy Valley New Music Project
Award for Excellence in Experimental Music
The Music Box Project for Shallow Listening
Work of the Year: Choral
Title: I am Martuwarra
Composer: Paul Stanhope, text by Steve Hawke
Performer: Gondwana Choirs, Luminescence Chamber Singers, Valla Voices, Hunter Singers, and Resonance and Lyn Williams, conductor
Work of the Year: Chamber Music
Title: passing bells: day
Composer: Chris Dench
Performer: Alex Raineri
Work of the Year: Large Ensemble
Title: Viola Concerto
Composer: James Ledger
Performer: Brett Dean, West Australian Symphony Orchestra and Fabien Gabel, conductor
Work of the Year: Electroacoustic/Sound Art
Title: Everywhen
Composer: Matthias Schack-Arnott
Performer: Matthias Schack-Arnott
Work of the Year: Dramatic
Title: Oscar and Lucinda
Composer: Elliott Gyger, librettist Pierce Wilcox
Performer: Sydney Chamber Opera and Jack Symonds, conductor
Title: Speechless
Composer: Cat Hope
Performer: Judith Dodsworth, Karina Utomo, Caitlin Cassidy,Sage Pbbbt (soloists), with Australian Bass Orchestra, Decibel New Music Ensemble and Aaron Wyatt, conductor
Work of the Year: Jazz
Title: Aventurine
Composer: Linda May Han Oh
Performer: Linda May Han Oh, Greg Ward, Matt Mitchell, Ches Smith, Fung Chern Hwei, Sara Caswell, Benni von Gutzeit, Jeremy Harman, Invenio with Gian Slater, director
Performance of the Year: Notated Composition
Performer: Louise Devenish
Title: Sheets of Sound
Composers: Annie Hui-Hsin Hsieh, Matthias Schack-Arnott, Louise Devenish and Stuart James
Performance of the Year: Jazz/Improvised Music
Performer: Sandy Evans, Shubha Mudgal, Aneesh Pradhan and Sirens Big Band
Title: Bridge of Dreams
Composer: Sandy Evans, Shubha Mudgal and Aneesh Pradhan
Luminary Awards: National
Individual
Chris Sainsbury for initiating and driving Ngarra-Burria: First Peoples Composers program
Organisation
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra for Australian Composers School, Australian Conducting Academy, and professional development opportunities for Australian musicians
Luminary Awards: State/Territory
Australian Capital Territory
Canberra International Music Festival for their record-breaking 2019 event and ongoing reputation for high quality and innovative programming
New South Wales
Joanna Drimatis for sustained contribution to the performance, programming and advocacy of Australian works, and string music education
South Australia
Ross McHenry for trailblazing global pathways through artistic practice for South Australian musicians
Northern Territory
David Wilfred & Daniel Wilfred for cultural leadership and sustained creative contributions in Australia and beyond
Western Australia
Louise Devenish for her ongoing advocacy, commissioning and performance of new percussion music in Western Australia
Victoria
Making Waves for breaking down perceived state barriers and connecting a new generation of Australian musicians
Tasmania
Michael Kieran Harvey for supporting the Tasmanian new music community through teaching, performance and recording
Queensland
Katie Noonan for The Glad Tomorrow and furthering the future of Queensland musicians
Follow Noise11 on Social Media
NEW: Noise11 on YouTube SUBSCRIBE
You’ll discover music news first following Noise11 on Twitter
Comment on the news of the day, join Noise11 on Facebook
