Art Music Awards return to acknowledge fields of composition, performance and education

Last held as a live event in 2019, the Art Music Awards return in 2022, being the only event that specifically acknowledges the achievements of Australia’s outstanding talent in the fields of composition, performance, education and presentation of Australian art music

APRA AMCOS and the Australian Music Centre (AMC) have announced details of the 2022 ART MUSIC AWARDS to be held on Wednesday 31st August at Meat Market, North Melbourne.

The annual celebration recognises some of Australia’s finest composers and performers for their standout efforts in contemporary classical music, contemporary jazz and improvised music, experimental music and sound art.

AMC Chief Executive Catherine Haridy notes “It’s with great anticipation and excitement this much missed event will happen this year, in real life, at Melbourne’s Meat Market. After a challenging two years, we have the opportunity to celebrate the power and resilience of our creators, their energy, and continuing ability to inspire, and tell our unique stories.”

Finalists for the 2022 Art Music Awards will be announced on Tuesday 26th July. Awards will be presented in 13 national categories, along with Luminary Awards for each Australian state or territory, to honour individuals and organisations who have impacted their communities over a sustained period.

The APRA Board of Directors will also award the Richard Gill Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music which recognises an individual or group considered to have made an outstanding contribution to the art music sector over a number of years. Previous recipients of this honour include Gill himself in 2014, Ros Bandt, Robyn Holmes, John Pochée, Larry Sitsky, Penny Lomax and Maureen Cooney, and the late composer Peter Sculthorpe, among many others.  

Live performances for the 2022 Art Music Awards will once again be curated by Melbourne-based pianist and composer Barney McAll, one of our truly international artists with a GRAMMY nomination, an ARIA Award, as well as multiple Australian Jazz Bell Awards to his name. Born and raised in Australia, McAll spent years working in New York and has performed and recorded with numerous international and Australian artists. He was awarded an Australia Council Fellowship in 2007 and the Peggy Glanville-Hicks composer residency in 2015–2016.

Making her debut as Art Music Awards host is Rwandan-British composer Stéphanie Kabanyana Kanyandekwe. Stéphanie writes and presents Passenger, a weekly show on ABC Classic, to a national and international audience. She will be joined at the podium by acclaimed First Nations singer and songwriter, Emma Donovan who is best known for her work with soul bands, The Putbacks and The Black Arm Band project. Rounding out the trio of hosts for 2022 is accomplished violist and conductor, Aaron Wyatt, who has appeared regularly throughout the past decade with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, and recently become the first Australian First Nations conductor of a major Australian orchestra.

Categories for the 2022 art music awards

• Work of the Year: Chamber Music

• Work of the Year: Choral

• Work of the Year: Dramatic

• Work of the Year: Electroacoustic / Sound Art

• Work of the Year: Jazz

• Work of the Year: Large Ensemble

• Performance of the Year: Jazz / Improvised Music

• Performance of the Year: Notated Composition

• Award for Excellence in Experimental Music

• Award for Excellence in Music Education

• Award for Excellence in a Regional Area

• Luminary Award – Individual

• Luminary Award – Organisation

• Luminary Awards – State/Territory

• Richard Gill Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music*

* as determined by the APRA Board of Directors

2022 Art Music Awards
ednesday 31st August @ 5.45pm
Meat Market, North Melbourne
With hosts Stéphanie Kabanyana Kanyandekwe, Emma Donovan and Aaron Wyatt, with live music curation by Barney McAll

APRA AMCOS is a key business partner to Australasian music creators having 111,000 members who are songwriters, composers and music publishers. They license businesses to play, perform, copy or record members’ music, and distribute the royalties to members.

The Australian Music Centre (AMC) is the national service organisation dedicated to the promotion and support of both the art form of music and the creators and performers of contemporary classical, improvised jazz, experimental music and sound art in Australia. 

Image top: 2022 Art Music Awards hosts Aaron Wyatt, Emma Donovan and Stéphanie Kabanyana Kanyandekwe