Paul Lowin Orchestral and Song Cycle Prizes
The Paul Lowin Prizes are known as one of Australia's richest prizes for music composition. Since 1991, its history of winning and highly commended works tells a powerful story of the skill and creativity of Australian composers and marks the wide breadth of contemporary musical expression.
In 2025, the Paul Lowin Prizes offer an increased total prize pool, in commemoration of the Australian Music Centre's fiftieth anniversary year.
Orchestral Prize
$30,000
The Paul Lowin Orchestral Prize encompasses works scored for modern chamber or symphony orchestra of at least 30 players and at least 5 independent lines. Works must be at least 12 minutes in duration. The work may include instrumental or vocal soloists and/or choral, electronically produced or pre-recorded elements.
Song Cycle Prize
$15,500
The Paul Lowin Song Cycle Prize encompasses music suitable for chamber ensemble, using no more than 8 independent vocal lines, and may be accompanied by up to 10 instrumental players. The text of the work must have a unifying theme. The composer and author of the text may or may not be the same people. The author of the text is not eligible for the Prize.
Highly Commended Prizes
$1,000
A Highly Commended Prize will be awarded for each Prize Category, in recognition of skill and artistic achievement of the entry.
Submitting nominations
The AMC and Perpetual as Trustees invite entries and nominations to the Paul Lowin Prizes from composers, musicians, publishers, and audience members.
Entries must be received by the AMC on behalf of the Trustee of the Paul Lowin Prizes no later than Tuesday 10 June 2025, 5pm AEST.
Enter a work for the Paul Lowin Prizes
Eligibility
Rules and Guidelines
The 2025 Paul Lowin Prizes Rules and Guidelines outline further eligibility criteria for entries into the Orchestral and Song Cycle Prize categories. Please read the complete Rules and Guidelines prior to submitting a nomination or entry to the Paul Lowin Prizes. Entries that do not comply with the guidelines will be deemed ineligible.
About the Paul Lowin Prizes
After immigrating to Australia in 1939, Czechoslovakian Paul Lowin worked as a wholesale dealer of cloth and dry goods, establishing the Swedish Handweaving Co. on George Street. Although a successful businessman, his work was never a main preoccupation. Mrs L Krips, a neighbour often visited by Lowin, wrote 'We never found out what he was doing for a living, as nothing seemed to him important enough to talk about if he could talk about music'.
Lowin's passion for music was manifest in the hand-written will found when, shortly after returning to Vienna in 1959, Lowin died of a heart attack. The will outlined his dream of encouraging excellence in music composition and his wish to establish a competition for works by living Australian composers.
It took thirty years for an appropriate scheme to be approved by the Chief Justice of NSW but eventually, in 1990, one of Australia's richest prizes for music composition was established. The competition was initially held every three years, but in 1995 further changes by the court enabled the competition to be held every two or three years.
Since the first prizes in 1991, over $500,000 has been awarded. Since 1999, the prizes have been presented in collaboration with Perpetual Trustee Company Limited as trustee for The Paul Lowin Trust and the Australian Music Centre.
Winners of the Paul Lowin Prizes
> View a list of all past recipients of the Paul Lowin Orchestral Prize.
> View a list of all past recipients of the Paul Lowin Song Cycle Prize.
Awards History
2019 Paul Lowin Prizes
Katy Abbott and Nigel Westlake were announced as winners of the 2019 Paul Lowin Prizes at the Melbourne Recital Centre on 22 October 2019.
2016 Paul Lowin Prizes
The winners of 2016 Paul Lowin Prizes were announced on 6 December 2016 at APRA AMCOS building in Sydney.
2013 Paul Lowin Prizes
The winners of 2013 Paul Lowin Prizes were announced on 28 October 2013 at APRA headquarters in Sydney.
2009 Paul Lowin Prizes
The winners of the 2009 Paul Lowin Prizes were announced on 30 October 2009 at the Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House.
2006 Paul Lowin Prizes
The winners of the 2006 Paul Lowin Prizes were announced on October 5 at a special ceremony at The Mint, Sydney.
2004 Paul Lowin Prizes
The 2004 Paul Lowin Prize ceremony was held at Government House, Sydney on 3 November 2004.
2001 Paul Lowin Prizes
The 2001 Paul Lowin Prize ceremony, hosted by Radio National’s Alan Saunders, was held at Customs house, Sydney on 22 October 2001.
1999 Paul Lowin Prizes
The winners of the 1999 Paul Lowin Prizes were announced at the Australian Music Centre Awards, at the Sydney Opera House, on 20 September 1999.