CONTENT COURTESY 2019 ART MUSIC AWARDS
Winners have been announced across 11 national categories and eight state categories of the 2019 Art Music Awards at a gala function at the Great Hall of the University of Sydney on Monday 19 August.
Hosted by APRA AMCOS and the Australian Music Centre, the Art Music Awards are the only national event in Australia to acknowledge the extraordinary achievements and creative successes of Australian composers, performers, and educators in the genres of contemporary classical music, jazz, and experimental music.
The winners in 2019 include some of Australia’s most innovative artists, and organisations with a long-term commitment to Australian art music.
This year’s Orchestral Work of the Year went to Carl Vine’s Implacable Gifts (Concerto for two pianos and orchestra); a sophisticated, strong work inspired by surrealist painting Arrival of Implacable Gifts by James Gleeson.
Mary Finsterer was recognised in the category of Instrumental Work of the Year for Ignis, a meticulously crafted duet for cello and the six-stringed viola d’amore. ‘Breathtakingly beautiful, surprising at every moment’, according to the judging panel.
Vocal/Choral Work of the Year was awarded to wordless opera The Howling Girls, composed by Damien Ricketson with direction from Adena Jacobs. A single soprano and a teenage chorus of howling girls create a sensory spectacle that communicates in a mode beyond the rational.
The Jazz Work of the Year was Trombone Song Cycle, a collection of obscure love songs composed by Joshua Kyle and arranged by Andrew Murray for the unusual combination of trombone quartet and voice. The award for Excellence in Jazz went to composer and bass player Ross McHenry for the creation of major new works, international touring, residencies and commissions in 2018.
The Performance of the Year went to Speak Percussion and Jessica Aszodi for their performance of the genre-defying Atlas of the Sky by Australian composer Liza Lim.
Zephyr Quartet received the award for Excellence by an Organisation in recognition of their 2018 program which defied genre, style and expectation, as well as their fearless championing of Australian work over 20 years.
The winner of the award for Excellence by an Individual was Lyn Williams (pictured above) for her significant contribution to the creation and performance of choral music in Australia. For 30 years, Lyn has transformed the choral landscape in Australia through the establishment of world-renowned children’s choirs including Sydney Children’s Choir and Gondwana Voices.
West Australian Symphony Orchestra is the recipient of the award for Excellence in Music Education for their Crescendo program. Inspired by the Venezuelan El Sistema, the program delivers free, ongoing and regular music education programs to West Australian schools.
Illawarra-based Steel City Strings won the award for Excellence in a Regional Area for their performance activity in the past 12 months and continued commitment to new Australian music.
The award for Excellence in Experimental Music went to Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music for their ongoing event, described by the judges as ‘a courageous, stimulating and imaginative place for high quality experimental music in the Australian landscape’.
The newly-titled Richard Gill Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music (as determined by the APRA Board of Writer and Publisher Directors) was presented to experimental jazz trio The Necks, the first band to receive this honour. With a career spanning three decades, the trio have carved out a unique space in the music scene, walking the line between avant-garde, improvisation and minimalism while still paying respect to jazz.
The 9th annual Art Music Awards were hosted by Jonathan Biggins; presenters included Chief Executive Officer of the Australia Council for the Arts, Adrian Collette AM; Create NSW Executive Director of Investment & Engagement, Elizabeth W. Scott; ABC Classic FM’s Content Manager Toby Chadd; Artistic Director for SIMA, Zoe Hauptmann; Philanthropist and Chair of the Copyright Agency, Kim Williams AM and Dr Simon Barker, Senior lecturer in Jazz Studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
Live performances curated by musical director Barney McAll featured composer Alice Chance; pianist Sonya Lifschitz performing a work by Robert Davidson; a duo improvisation by saxophonist Scott McConnachie and organist Amy Johansen; and a performance of Rhyan Clapham’s Talk To Me I’m Listening, performed by Ensemble Offspring’s Jason Noble and Emma Jardine joined by Benjamin Kopp, Sonya Holowell and Chloe Kim.
