Art Music Awards
Presented annually by APRA AMCOS and the Australian Music Centre, 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 practices.
The Art Music Awards consists of awards for works of the year, performances of the year, and excellence in education, regional areas, and experimental practices, plus up to ten Luminary awards (for sustained contribution of individuals or organisations to their state/territory community or on a national scale).
Additionally, the Richard Gill Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music is presented at the discretion of the APRA and AMC Boards of Directors.
For more information on the Awards visit the Art Music Awards wesbite.
Art Music Awards categories
• Work of the Year: Choral
• Work of the Year: Solo and Small Ensemble
• Work of the Year: Meduim Ensemble
• Work of the Year: Large Ensemble
• Work of the Year: Dramatic
• Work of the Year: Electroacoustic / Sound Art
• Work of the Year: Jazz and Improvised Music
• Performance of the Year: Soloist
• Performance of the Year: Classical and Experimental
• Performance of the Year: Jazz and Improvised Music
• Excellence in Music Education
• Excellence in a Regional Area
• Excellence in Experimental Practice
• Luminary Award - Individual
• Luminary Award - Organisation
• Luminary Awards - State/Territory Awards
• Richard Gill Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music
2025 Art Music Awards
Sydney-based composer Jack Symonds was the night’s biggest winner, receiving two awards: Work of the Year: Dramatic for his opera Gilgamesh, with text by Louis Garrick, and the NSW State Luminary Award for his outstanding contributions to contemporary Australian opera. Gilgamesh also earned Sydney Chamber Opera, Opera Australia, Australian String Quartet and Ensemble Offspring the award for Performance of the Year: Notated Composition.
Women composers continued to make a strong impact this year, winning four of the six Work of the Year categories. Work of the Year: Choral was awarded to multiple-award-winning composer Anne Cawrse for All Flesh Is Fire, text by Kate Llewellyn and performed by the Adelaide Chamber Singers.
Work of the Year: Chamber Music was awarded to Cathy Milliken for her work In Speak, performed by Arditti Quartet for their 50th jubilee celebrations, while Kate Milligan’s audio-visual work Tactus, performed by Jonty Coy, took out the award for Work of the Year: Electroacoustic/Sound Art, her third Art Music Award to date.
Melbourne-based jazz visionaries, Koi Kingdom, were awarded Work of the Year: Jazz for their self-titled work composed and performed by members Cheryl Durongpisitkul, Stephen Hornby and Marcos Villalta, and the final Work of the Year: Large Ensemble was presented to Jakub Jankowski for Ritornello, dedicated to the 20th-century Soviet film director Sergei Parajanov and performed by the Australian Chamber Orchestra.
In the Performance of the Year: Jazz/Improvised Music category, Max Alduca, Jacques Emery, Brett Hirst, Chloe Kim, Oscar Neyland, Helen Svoboda and Jonathan Zwartz took out the award for their performance highlighting multiple aspects of the double bass, Music For Six Double Bassists, composed by Chloe Kim.
Three Excellence Awards were awarded to projects that illuminate the importance of cross-cultural collaboration and artistic practice in contemporary Australian art music. This year’s Award for Excellence in Music Education went to Musica Viva Australia for their accessible Music Education Program. Leading arts and social change organisation, Big hART, won the Award for Excellence in a Regional Area for Tjaabi: Flood Country – 2024 Regional Tour, and multi-award winner Aviva Endean took out the Award for Excellence in Experimental Practice for The Breath Becomes The Wind.
Two of this year’s National Luminary Awards were awarded on the night, honouring Individuals and Organisations who through sustained contribution, have impacted the community through visionary leadership, high-level artistic practice and championing the Australian repertoire. The recipients were Stephen Adams for his outstanding contribution and dedication to Australian music as a broadcaster, producer, composer and advocate, and Decibel New Music for its program of concerts, releases, tours and publications. The State and Territory Luminary Award recipients were announced before the ceremony and presented with their awards at the event.
Art music visionaries, Jon Rose and Hollis Taylor, were honoured with the prestigious Richard Gill Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music for their boundary-pushing work and sonic exploration, with Rose accepting the award on the pair’s behalf.
Dean Ormston, CEO of APRA AMCOS, says: “Congratulations to this year’s finalists and winners on their remarkable achievements. Once again, they have pushed the boundaries of art music and sonic exploration. We proudly celebrate their extraordinary talent, which is receiving the recognition it so richly deserves.”
Catherine Haridy, CEO of AMC, says: "This year's finalists showcase the incredible breadth of talent we are so lucky to have in Australia's art music community. We, at the AMC, are committed, in our 50th year of existence, to celebrating and valuing the creation of Australian composers, performers, and industry leaders. Congratulations to all of tonight's winners."
The 2025 Art Music Awards were presented by Vanessa Hughes, with guest presenters Nardi Simpson and Hamed Sadeghi.
Guests were treated to performances by an eclectic lineup of artists, including four-piece supergroup Asteroid Ekosystem; drummer and electronic musician Laurence Pike with VOX Sydney Philharmonia Choirs; percussionist Claire Edwardes in collaboration with turntablist Martin Ng; the premiere of Indigenous experimental sound ensemble grndwater featuring amby downs, JWPaton, sallvage and Sonya Holowell; and pianist Alex Raineri, curated by acclaimed artist, Sia Ahmad.
APRA AMCOS and the AMC congratulate all the 2025 Art Music Awards winners on their outstanding achievements.
2025 Winners
Work of the Year - Choral
Title: All Flesh is Fire
Composer: Anne Cawrse
Text: Kate Llewellyn
Performer: Adelaide Chamber Singers
Work of the Year - Dramatic
Title: Gilgamesh
Composer: Jack Symonds
Performer: Sydney Chamber Opera, Opera Australia, Australian String Quartet and Ensemble Offspring
Work of the Year - Jazz
Title: Koi Kingdom
Composer: Cheryl Durongpisitkul, Stephen Hornby and Marcos Villalta
Performer: Koi Kingdom
Work of the Year – Large Ensemble
Title: Ritornello
Composer: Jakub Jankowski
Performer: Australian Chamber Orchestra
Work of the Year- Chamber Music
Title: In Speak
Composer: Cathy Milliken
Performer: Arditti Quartet
Work of the Year- Electroacoustic/Sound Art
Title: Tactus
Composer: Kate Milligan
Performer: Jonty Coy
Performance of the Year – Jazz/Improvised Music
Performer: Max Alduca, Jacques Emery, Brett Hirst, Chloe Kim, Oscar Neyland, Helen Svoboda and Jonathan Zwartz
Title: Music For Six Double Bassists
Composer: Chloe Kim
Performance of the Year – Notated Composition
Performer: Sydney Chamber Opera, Jessica O'Donoghue, Jack Symonds, conductor, and Clemence Williams, director
Title: Gilgamesh
Composer: Louis Garrick
Award for Excellence in Music Education
Musica Viva Australia for Accessible Music Education Program
Award for Excellence in a Regional Area
Big hART for Tjaabi: Flood Country - 2024 Regional Tour
Award for Excellence in Experimental Practice
Aviva Endean for The Breath Becomes The Wind
Richard Gill Awards for Distinguised Services to Australian Music
John Rose and Hollis Taylor
Luminary Award - Individual (National)
Stephen Adams for his outstanding contribution and dedication to Australian music as a broadcaster, producer, composer and advocate
Luminary Award - Organisation (National)
Decibel New Music for Decibel's program of concerts, releases, tours and publications
State/Territory Luminary Awards
ACT: Luminescence Chamber Singers for their annual program in ACT and beyond
NSW: Jack Symonds for outstanding contributions to contemporary Australian opera
VICTORIA: Nat Bartsch for advocacy for neurodiversity in music
QLD: Muses Trio for Muses Inc.
SA: Adelaide Chamber Singers for sustained contribution to commissioning and artistic excellence
TASMANIA: Stevie McEntee for programming of Clarence Jazz Festival and as artistic director/founding member of Lutruwita Art Orchestra
The yearly Art Music Awards are presented by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA AMCOS) and the Australian Music Centre to recognise achievement in the composition, performance, education and presentation of Australian music.
