Winning Composers, Performers and Organisations from the 2005 Classical Music Awards

Distinguished Services to Australian Music

Miriam Hyde

Read the tribute to Miriam

Best Composition by an Australian Composer
Andrew Ford for Learning to Howl

The panel thought that this very impressive work was beautifully crafted, and extremely effective overall. The composer has shown great sensitivity and artistry in his excellent selection of texts from diverse sources. He has expertly set these texts for soprano, clarinets/saxophone, harp and percussion, and from these moderate resources has created a truly lovely, atmospheric sound picture. This is a moving piece that reaches into the heart of the listener.

Award for Best Performance of an Australian Composition
Richard Haynes for his performance of Peter Rankine's Time and the Bell

The panel chose the talented young clarinettist Richard Haynes for his splendid interpretation of Peter Rankine's Time and the Bell.

The panel found his playing assured, confident, and very impressive. His intonation, clarity, expression and accuracy demonstrated his total involvement in, and commitment to, the music. This performance was memorable in the true sense of the word.

Manifestly, Richard Haynes makes it his business to put his art at the service of the Australian composer and, already at the age of 21, has made a significant contribution to furthering the emergence of young composers of his generation, in Brisbane and elsewhere. He sets a shining example to his peers and colleagues.

Vocal/Choral Work of the Year
Berceuse by Gerard Brophy.

Instrumental Work of the Year
Stoneworks by Richard Charlton.

Orchestral Work of the Year
This Insubstantial Pageant by Gordon Kerry.

Award for Long-term Contribution to the advancement of Australian Music
Felix Werder

The panel had much pleasure in selecting composer Felix Werder for the 2004 Award in recognition of his lifelong work in the promotion of Australian composers and their music.

For very many years he has supported both established composers and the younger generation by providing performance opportunities. Thirty years ago he established an elite performing ensemble called 'Australia Felix' with the aim of presenting Australian works, not only in Australia but also overseas, and there have been many Australia Felix concerts over the years. In addition, broadcasts of the performances maximised available audiences for Australian music. Felix Werder's support of Australian music and music-making was a notable feature of his regular reviews in the Melbourne press. He successfully achieved another aim of bringing the music of other countries to Australia - initiating cultural exchanges, inviting musicians here to impart their particular expertise, and expediting overseas travel for some of our performers and composers. Now that Felix Werder is an octagenarian, his many years of activity for Australian music can truly be called ‘Long Term’, and duly celebrated.

Most Distinguished Contribution to the Advancement of Australian Music in a Regional Area
Queensland Biennial Festival of Music for the 2003 Festival

There were eight nominations in the category, covering a wide field of activity across many different areas. The Panel chose the 2003 Queensland Biennial Festival of Music for the award. The nature of community involvement in interesting and imaginative projects and ownership by those communities in the activities showed the huge impact that this Festival has made and continues to foster. It is very impressive in the number of people it reaches in a State which has problems with isolation. Whilst being very strong indeed in the city-based component of the Festival, this particular award is for work done outside the capital cities. The Festival encompassed a good spread across diverse communities in the outback and with top musicians, too many to mention here. There were many unusual ideas put into execution, like the multiple hand-made marimbas in Barcaldine, or Graeme Leek's Musica Fence in Winton, or deliciously whacky Bobcats Dancing in Mount Isa, and heaps more – the sheer range is astonishing. The Queensland Festival continues to produce excellence in innovation and inspiration.

Most Distinguished Contribution to the Presentation of Australian Music by an Organisation
West Australia Symphony Orchestra for it's [15 x 5'] program

As part of its 75th birthday celebrations in 2003, the West Australian Symphony Orchestra commissioned a five-minute work from fifteen Australian composers – seventy-five minutes of music for seventy-five years of the Orchestra’s existence. These were premiered in different settings throughout the year. Covering a wide range of styles, the '15 x 5' undertaking demonstrated an admirable way of incorporating new work into the cultural landscape. The Panel felt that the Orchestra showed fantastic initiative, and took a real risk in making such a major commitment to an unusual and ambitious enterprise, when risk-taking is particularly difficult for orchestras in States with smaller populations. Both composers and audiences will be the long-term beneficiaries, as there will certainly be many future performance opportunities for these works.

Most Distinguished Contribution to the Presentation of Australian Music by an Individual
Patricia Pollett for her CD Still Life

The Panel listened with great pleasure to excellent performances by Patricia and several top-ranking colleagues. They praised Patricia's choice of repertoire and commented that the superb calibre of her work would attract a high level of composition, and inspire the best from our composers. Several pieces either commissioned by her, or written especially for her, appear on this CD and attest to Patricia's passion for the new. She has consistently used her considerable skills as a leading string player in enthusiastic promotion of Australian music.

Most Distinguished Contribution to the Advancement of Australian Music in Education
Lyn Carr for the 2003 Keys Competition

The Panel found it very difficult to form a decision from examining five very impressive entries in the Education category. After a very thorough discussion, its final choice went to Lyn Carr for the 2003 Keys Competition, a piano Competition which was initiated in Queensland last year.

Lyn Carr's distinguished personal contribution is a shining example of what one person with a passion can achieve. On this occasion, it was the idea of innovation in education in a wider, community sense than in more established and refined classroom programs that have been running for a while. The Panel felt that this Competition would make a real impact in an area where the notion of Australian composition is mostly uncharted territory. Lyn Carr's Competition dealt ONLY with Australian composition, using published and unpublished scores, which will in the future encourage more composers to write music. Running of workshops with teachers, students and parents gave added access to overall educational value within those groups, and from there into the wider public. Lyn Carr's enterprise and imagination in creating this new and very worthwhile venture is to be congratulated and encouraged.

Australian Capital Territory Award
The NSW / ACT panel chose a nomination in the category of "Most Distinguished Contribution to the Advancement of Australian Music in Education". The award goes to Richard Gill and Margaret Moore, Sydney Symphony Education Program.

The panel thought that every aspect of the program was outstanding. They commented on the wide range of music, the inspired approach in stimulating the students' imaginations, the suggestions for listening, analysis, follow up work and the meticulous presentation. "The students must be excited; the teachers should be in heaven." The project was chosen from an extensive number of excellent entries.

Queensland State Award
The Queensland panel chose a nomination in the category of "Most Distinguished Contribution to the Presentation of Australian Music by an Organisation". The award goes to the Queensland Biennial Festival of Music.

The 2003 Queensland Biennial Festival of Music made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of Australian music because it encompasses music at community, amateur and professional levels. The panel was impressed by the wide spectrum of music styles covered; the cultural impact, both immediate and ongoing, of the events; the number of professional composers and musicians employed; and the extent of community access to and involvement in original Australian music made possible by the QBFM regional events.

South Australian State Award
The South Australian panel chose a nomination in the category of "Long-term Contribution to the Advancement of Australian Music". The award goes to Bozidar Kos.

The panel felt that the materials submitted on behalf of Bozidar Kos were comprehensive, and helped confirm the panel members' knowledge of his distinction in his field, and his sustained contributions to Australian music (SA and beyond) over many years.

Victorian State Award
The Victorian panel chose a nomination in the category of "Long-term Contribution to the Advancement of Australian Music". The award goes to Jeannie Marsh.

Jeannie Marsh has made a dynamic and sustained commitment to music-making in Victoria over the last 20 years. Particularly significant is the breadth of her activities (as performer, teacher, producer, commissioner of new work, recording artist, facilitator and community musician), her engagement with a range of musical styles and audiences, her support for and involvement in community music, and her role in fostering and bringing to public attention both new and older Australian music.

Western Australian State Award
The panel chose a nomination in the category of "Most Distinguished Contribution to the Presentation of Australian Music by an Organisation". The award goes to the West Australian Symphony Orchestra for their [15 x 5'] project.

WASO is to be congratulated for this important initiative in its 75th birthday year. The works presented in [15 x 5'] were stylistically varied, written by composers from throughout Australia and were a unique and engaging snapshot of current compositional activity in this country. Equally importantly, the works were presented across the orchestra's many concert series, ensuring a broad audience reach. Having the composer present at many premier performances reinforced the centrality of this "living" music to the future of one of Western Australia's premier arts organizations.

Tasmanian State Award
The Tasmanian panel chose a nomination in the category of "Best Composition by an Australian Composer". The award goes to Raffaele Marcellino, Russell Gilmour, and Ian Munro for The Whitlam Rags.

"We believe that the work is of very high quality, and of national relevance and significance. We liked the orignality, the use of the rag form, and the collaborative approach of the project. We also noted that it was the second in a sequence of commentaries on political figures, beginning with the Keating Tangos. In all, a highly imaginative Tasmanian conceived project".