Resonate Magazine | Australian Music Centre

APRA (Australasian Performing Right Association) and the Australian Music Centre are proud to announce the finalists for the 2013 Art Music Awards. The list reflects the incredibly rich variety of music composed and performed in 2012, with exciting collaborations and jazz compositions side by side with experimental projects, large-scale symphonic, vocal, chamber and instrumental works - brought to life by dedicated musicians and art organisations all over Australia.

The finalists in the category of Work of the Year: Orchestral are Ross Edwards for his Saxophone Concerto Full Moon Dances, composed for Amy Dixon; Carl Vine for Piano Concerto No. 2, written for Piers Lane, Andrew Ford for Blitz, an engaging work that interweaves music with spoken word; and Brett Dean for Fire Music, a work of emotional intensity, inspired by the Black Saturday fires of 2009. (For more detail about three of these works, see these Resonate articles: Full Moon Dances, Fire Music, Blitz.)

In the category Work of the Year: Instrumental, Gordon Kerry is recognised for his elegant String Quintet, and Damian Barbeler for his Bright Birds - a work integrating traditional compositional techniques and inspiration from nature (for more information about Bright Birds, see this Resonate article). These are joined by Lachlan Skipworth for his saxophone quartet Dark Nebulae, and Mary Finsterer for Falling, a large-scale work inspired by falling autumn leaves.

Finalists in the category of Work of the Year: Vocal/Choral are composer James Ledger and singer-songwriter Paul Kelly for their collaboration on song cycle Conversations with Ghosts; Stephen Leek for the work Heritage In Song, written specifically to showcase young voices; Robert Davidson for the topical and imaginative electroacoustic work We Apologise; and Katy Abbott for her song cycle The Domestic Sublime.

In the Work of the Year: Jazz category, Marc Hannaford and his highly original Anda Two is joined by Alice Humphries for The World Rushes On from her debut album, Sandy Evans for her exploration of Australian and Indian cultures Meetings at the Table of Time, and composer and pianist Andrea Keller for her distinctive Meditations on Light.

In the Performance of the Year category, finalists include the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra conducted by Frederic Chaslin (for the performance of Andrián Pertout's Bénédiction d'un conquérant); Trio Dali (for their interpretation of Gordon Kerry's Im Winde); pianist Zubin Kanga (for his virtuosic performance of Andrew Harrison's The drumfire was incessant, and continued all night with unabated fury...); and the Australian Art Orchestra and the Sruthi Laya Ensemble for their performance of Sandy Evans's Meetings at the Table of Time.

The finalists in the category Award for Excellence by an Organisation are Acacia Quartet for the recording of the complete string quartets by Elena Kats-Chernin, Blue Silence; Soundstream: Adelaide New Music Festival for continued promotion of new music; Speak Percussion for their 2012 program; and Tura New Music and the Australian Chamber Orchestra for the Reef Tour 2012.

The four finalists in the category of Award for Excellence by an Individual are Cat Hope for supporting and growing new music in Western Australia; Danielle Bentley for commitment to Australian art music and chamber music; David Young for 20 years of commissioning, curating and producing new Australian art music; and pianist Zubin Kanga for 'Spectrum', a recital of newly commissioned piano music.

Gondwana Choirs are finalists in the category of Award for Excellence in Music Education for their choral training programs in 2012 - they are joined by James Humberstone for 'Cycles & Circles' education program (as part of Ensemble Offspring's 'Music to Infinity'); the New England Conservatorium of Music for 'New England Sings!'; and Speak Percussion for their 2012 education programs.

The finalists for the Award for Excellence in a Regional Area are Gondwana Choirs for the Cairns Gondwana Indigenous Children's Choir; Tammy Brennan for the site-specific performance installation Confined at the Old Alice Springs Gaol; the Wired Lab and Country Arts SA for 'Southern Encounter'; and Tura New Music and the Australian Chamber Orchestra for the Reef Tour 2012.

In the category of Award for Excellence in Experimental Music, finalists are Daniel Blinkhorn for composition and field recording of his frostbYte triptych; Decibel for their 2012 program; Super Critical Mass for their 2012 activities; and the Wired Lab and Country Arts SA for 'Southern Encounter'.

Jamie Oehlers is a finalist in the category of Award for Excellence in Jazz for recording, touring and educational achievements in 2012. He is joined by fellow finalists Quentin Angus (for composition, performance and career development); Trichotomy (for compositional performance and recording projects); and Jeremy Rose.

The Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music (as determined by the Board of Directors of APRA) will be announced prior to the event. There is also an award for each Australian State or Territory from one of the eleven national categories listed above.

The 2013 Art Music Awards will be presented at the Parade Theatre, NIDA, on Monday 26 August 2013, hosted by James Morrison and with a live performance program curated by Genevieve Lacey.

APRA and the AMC would like to extend congratulations to all of the finalists for the 2013 Art Music Awards.

2013 Art Music Award finalists

Work of the Year: Orchestral

Title: Blitz
Composer: Andrew Ford
Performed by: Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marko Letonja

Title: Fire Music
Composer: Brett Dean
Performed by: Adelaide Symphony Orchestra conducted by Brett Dean
Publishers: Hal Leonard Australia Pty Ltd OBO Bote Bock Der Boosey Hawkes Bote Bock GM

Title: Full Moon Dances
Composer: Ross Edwards
Performed by: Amy Dickson (saxophone) with the Sydney Symphony conducted by Miguel Harth-Bedoya

Title: Piano Concerto No. 2
Composer: Carl Vine
Performed by: Piers Lane (piano) with the Sydney Symphony conducted by Hugh Wolff
Publishers: Hal Leonard Australia Pty Ltd OBO Faber Music Ltd

Work of the Year: Instrumental

Title: Bright Birds
Composer: Damian Barbeler
Performed by: Stephen Emmerson and Sonya Lifschitz

Title: Dark Nebulae
Composer: Lachlan Skipworth
Performed by: Khasm Quartet

Title: Falling
Composer: Mary Finsterer
Performed by: Paul Grabowsky and Gabriella Smart

Title: String Quintet
Composer: Gordon Kerry
Performed by: Kuss Quartet with Naoko Shimizu

Work of the Year: Vocal/Choral

Title: Conversations with Ghosts
Composers: Paul Kelly* and James Ledger
Text: Paul Kelly, Emily Dickinson, Norman MacCaig, Les Murray, Kenneth Slessor, Lord Alfred Tennyson, Judith Wright, W.B. Yeats
Performed by: Paul Kelly, James Ledger, Genevieve Lacey and musicians from Australian National Academy of Music
*Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing Australia P/L

Title: Heritage in Song
Composer: Stephen Leek
Text: Stephen Leek
Performed by: Sydney Children's Choir conducted by Lyn Williams

Title: The Domestic Sublime
Composer: Katy Abbott
Text: Chris Wallace-Crabbe
Performed by: Greta Bradman (soprano) and Leigh Harrold (piano)

Title: We Apologise
Composer: Robert Davidson
Text: Robert Davidson (from Kevin Rudd's apology to Indigenous Australians, 13 February 2008)
Performed by: The Australian Voices conducted by Gordon Hamilton

Work of the Year: Jazz

Title: Anda Two
Composer: Marc Hannaford
Performed by: the Marc Hannaford Trio

Title: Meditations on Light
Composer: Andrea Keller
Performed by: Andrea Keller Quartet and No Tango Quartet

Title: Meetings at the Table of Time
Composer: Sandy Evans
Performed by: members of the Australian Art Orchestra and the Sruthi Laya ensemble

Title: The World Rushes On
Composer: Alice Humphries
Performed by: Ecila ensemble

Performance of the Year

Performer: Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra conducted by Frederic Chaslin
Title: Bénédiction d'un conquérant for symphony orchestra
Composer: Andrián Pertout

Performer: Members of the Australian Art Orchestra and the Sruthi Laya ensemble
Title: Meetings at the Table of Time
Composer: Sandy Evans

Performer: Trio Dali
Title: Im Winde
Composer: Gordon Kerry

Performer: Zubin Kanga
Title: The Drumfire was incessant, and continued all night with unabated fury…
Composer: Andrew Harrison

Award for Excellence by an Organisation

Acacia Quartet for Blue Silence, the recording of the complete string quartets of Elena Kats-Chernin
Soundstream: Adelaide New Music Festival for the sustained promotion of new music
Speak Percussion for their 2012 artistic program
Tura New Music and the Australian Chamber Orchestra for the Reef Tour 2012

Award for Excellence by an Individual

Cat Hope for supporting and growing new music in Western Australia
Danielle Bentley for dedication and commitment to Australian art music and chamber music
David Young for 20 years of commissioning, curating and producing new Australian art music
Zubin Kanga for 'Spectrum', a recital of newly commissioned piano music

Award for Excellence in Music Education

Gondwana Choirs for Gondwana Choirs Choral Training Programs 2012
James Humberstone for 'Cycles & Circles' education program (as part of Ensemble Offspring's 'Music to Infinity')
New England Conservatorium of Music for 'New England Sings!'
Speak Percussion for their 2012 education programs

Award for Excellence in a Regional Area

Gondwana Choirs for the Cairns Gondwana Indigenous Children's Choir
Tammy Brennan for the site-specific performance installation, CONFINED, at the Old Alice Springs Gaol
The Wired Lab and Country Arts SA for 'Southern Encounter'
Tura New Music and the Australian Chamber Orchestra for the Reef Tour 2012

Award for Excellence in Experimental Music

Daniel Blinkhorn for composition and location field recording frostbYte triptych
Decibel for their 2012 program
Super Critical Mass for their activities in 2012
The Wired Lab and Country Arts SA for 'Southern Encounter'

Award for Excellence in Jazz

Jamie Oehlers for recording, touring and educational achievements in 2012
Quentin Angus for composition, performance and career development
Trichotomy for compositional performance & recording projects
Jeremy Rose for excellence in jazz

> See also: list of finalists and other details on the APRA website
> For more information about the Awards, their history and previous winners, please see the Awards page on the AMC website.