British Museum Great Russell Street London Tuesday 15 th November 2022
Hosted by Hannah Peel and Tom Service
#TheIvorsComposerAwards @IvorsAcademy
Composer
is the UK’s foremost celebration of creative excellence in contemporary classical and jazz composition and sound arts.
6.15pm Drinks and Canapés East and West Foyer
7.00pm Awards Ceremony Lecture Theatre
Event Event
Small Chamber Jazz Ensemble Community and Participation Chamber Ensemble Orchestral Innovation Award Stage Works Sound Art Large Ensemble Outstanding Works Collection Choral Academy Fellowship
8.30pm Drinks and Bowl Food East and West Foyer
10.00pm Guest Departures
It is our privilege to welcome you to the 20 th edition of The Ivors Composer Awards, the leading celebration of contemporary composing across classical, jazz and sound arts.
Over the past 20 years we have celebrated and recognised the craft, ingenuity and achievements of the UK’s most talented composers including Sir Harrison Birtwistle CH, Tansy Davies, Mark-Anthony Turnage CBE, Sir John Tavener, Yazz Ahmed, Cassie Kinoshi, Jonny Greenwood, Sally Beamish OBE, Anna Meredith MBE, Errollyn Wallen CBE, Roderick Williams OBE, Jason Yarde and many more.
None of this would have been possible without our sponsor PRS for Music and broadcast partner BBC Radio 3, who have supported these awards since the beginning. We congratulate the BBC on its centenary and extend our thanks for 100 years of championing new music and composition.
Tonight, we are delighted to present the Ivor Novello Award for Community and Participation in association with ABRSM, for Innovation with the Musicians’ Union and the Outstanding Works Collection Award with the Music Publishers Association.
This year provides us with not just an opportunity to celebrate the past 20 years of excellence but also to start a conversation ‘Composers Under Pressure?’ to hear from composers about the ways in which composition is changing and how this creates future challenges and possibilities. We can all strive for the next 20 years of composition to be as strong as the last.
Our Academy exists to honour your achievements, help develop your craft and career, campaign for your rights, represent your views and raise your voice. Thank you for joining us tonight and sharing in our purpose. We hope you have a fantastic evening.
Today we celebrate the 20-year anniversary of The Ivors Composer Awards, the exceptional artistry of the composers who are nominees and winners, and the legacy that this celebration has built.
When the awards began 20 years ago, PRS for Music supported it from its inception. We are honoured to continue to support this prestigious ceremony which uplifts the incredible talent from our classical, jazz and sound art communities, including emerging composers who are just forming their musical identities.
Music often provides a soundtrack to our lives and inspiration to our days. Somehow, composers take intangible ideas and create musical compositions that remind us how much music adds to our lives. This year, amongst the 45 new pieces of music which are nominated, representing the work of 41 individual composers, just under 50% are first time nominees – a remarkable achievement.
Throughout the year, it is our key focus to continue vital work lobbying government to protect the value of music. PRS classical members are also extended composer workshops, showcase opportunities, and commissioning opportunities with organisations such as Ligeti Quartet, The Riot Ensemble, Edinburgh International Film Festival and Royal Scottish National Orchestra. In a PRS for Music first, we teamed up with PRS member Philip Glass, Dunvagen Music Publishers and Orange Mountain Music to celebrate the inimitable Glass’ 85 th birthday and launch Refractions, a commissioned collaboration which gave four PRS member composers the opportunity to engage and reimagine with Glass’ music through the context of their own practice. The Refractions recordings will be released in January 2023.
Congratulations to all the nominees and winners for believing in music and sharing their passion and talent with us and to The Ivors Academy for championing what means so much to all of us, year-round.
Welcome to this very special edition of The Ivors Composer Awards, marking their 20 th anniversary. Putting a spotlight on some of the UK’s most talented and imaginative composers – what an incredible achievement. And one that is immensely relevant for the whole music sector: we need to encourage and support creative exploration, renewal and innovation, as this is the only way to keep the genre alive and the idea of an ever-growing canon, attracting new audiences with a sense of exploration and discovery.
That is why it is with great joy and pride that BBC Radio 3 renews its partnership with The Ivors this year, celebrating a crucial milestone. Giving our listeners across the country and around the world the opportunity to discover and appreciate new and experimental music, presented alongside the more familiar repertoire, is one of our core reasons to be. We owe it to our audiences, who are fearless and open minded in their exploration and always on the lookout for new and stimulating music.
We are delighted that two of our presenters, Hannah Peel and Tom Service, are here tonight to introduce the fantastic new works that have been shortlisted. And for those of you who might want to re-live the buzz of this evening, tune in on Radio 3 or BBC Sounds for New Music Show on Saturday 19 November, and you can listen to it all over again.
Congratulations to everyone who has been nominated, and let’s all wish The Ivors Composer Awards a Happy 20 th Birthday!
The Ivors Academy (then known as BASCA) set up the British Composer Awards in 2003 with the support of PRS for Music and BBC Radio 3. The aim was to celebrate the work of classical composers living and working in the UK. To raise their profile and promote the importance of commissioning of new music.
The first ever British Composer Awards took place on Thursday 18 th December 2003 at the Barbican in London. The ceremony was hosted by BBC Radio 3’s Verity Sharp and Sean Rafferty and the awards were presented by Sir Andrew Davis.
Eleven awards were presented. Winners included the late Anthony Payne’s 2002 BBC Proms commission Visions and Journeys and 22-year-old Helen Grime’s Oboe Concerto, which she had performed the previous year with the Meadows Chamber Orchestra of Edinburgh.
Over the past 20 years, more than 700 works by over 350 composers have been nominated, and over 230 awards have been presented.
Prolific winners include the late Sir Harrison Birtwistle (the most awarded composer with eight gongs), Julian Anderson, Rebecca Saunders and Judith Bingham. Double award winners in any one year include Michael Finnissy, Cheryl Frances-Hoad and Kerry Andrew.
Clockwise from top right: Stage Works recipient Julian Anderson with Jessica Cottis in 2015; Kerry Andrew’s double win in 2014 for Community or Educational Project and Stage Works; Rebecca Saunders and Nigel Osborne in 2017
The first Jazz award was presented in 2009, won by Jason Yarde for the BBC Proms commission Rhythm and Other Fascinations
Gareth Moorcraft won our inaugural Student Competition in 2012 aged just 21 then returned to the awards eight years later to win an Ivor for Diaries of the Early Worm commissioned for recorder player, Tabea Debus.
I n 2016 we introduced awards that celebrate a composer for their outstanding contributions to new music.
We’ve been honoured to recognise the innovative brilliance of Jennifer Walshe, Shiva Feshareki, Sarah Angliss, Anna Meredith and sonic pioneer Trevor Wishart; as well as the compositional craft of Alexander Goehr, Sally Beamish, Nigel Osborne, Erika Fox, Cecilia McDowall and the late Simon Bainbridge. We’ve also recognised some exceptional jazz voices in Zoe Rahman, Cleveland Watkiss and Yazz Ahmed.
Clockwise from top right: Innovation recipient Cleveland Watkiss with Julian Joseph in 2021; Innovation recipient Anna Meredith with Sara Mohr-Pietsch in 2019; Impact recipient Zoe Rahman 2021; Jennifer Walshe, Leo Chadburn, Laurence Crane and Brian Irvine in 2016
I n 2019, alongside the Academy’s rebrand, the British Composer Awards became The Ivors Composer Awards. This change brought the Academy’s celebration of classical, jazz and sound art into its annual presentation of Ivor Novello Awards.
The Ivor Novello Award statuette is a representation of Euterpe, the Greek muse of music and lyric poetry. It was designed by Hazel Underwood, an undergraduate of St Martin’s School of Art in London, in 1955. To this day it is still cast in solid bronze and weighs just over 7lbs.
An Ivor Novello Award represents peer recognition.
The Ivors Academy would like to thank all who sat on this year’s award panels:
Robert Ames
Sarah Angliss Luke Bedford David Bednall Rory Boyle Elvin Brandhi Charlotte Bray Gary Carpenter Bob Chilcott
Olivia Clarke
Mahaliah Edwards
Simon Emmerson
Daniel Fardon
Juliet Fraser Tim Garland Martin Green
Edward Gregson
Magz Hall
Charlotte Harding Ken Hesketh
Emily Howard Rhian Hutchings Martin Iddon Brian Irvine Laura Jurd Nathan Knight Caroline Kraabel Stuart MacRae
Conor Mitchell Supriya Nagarajan Ivo Neame
Uchenna Ngwe
George Nicholson Ben Nobuto
Yshani Perinpanayagam Zoe Rahman Brenda Rattray Ailís Ní Ríain
Sarah Rodgers Patricia Rozario John Rutter Sorana Santos Sinan Savaskan
Josephine Stephenson Anna Thorvaldsdottir Philip Venables
Oliver Vibrans Cleveland Watkiss
CORALe Benjamin Graves for viola and piano, 9 minutes
Commissioned by Park Lane Group supported by the Marchus and Fidelio Trusts. Performed by Luba Tunnicliffe and Gamal Khamis at St. James’ Piccadilly, London on 30 th June 2021.
Fantasie di strani e dolci misteri della parola James Weeks for mezzo soprano and violin, 23 minutes
Performed by Lucy Goddard and Sophie Appleton as part of MUSICON, Durham’s online season 2021-22, and streamed on the Durham University Music Department YouTube channel on 10 th May 2021.
Natural World Laurence Crane for soprano and piano / sampler keyboard, 50 minutes
Commissioned by Juliet Fraser, with the support of Arts Council England, PRS Foundation, the RVW Trust and co-commission partners Oxford Lieder and Musica Sacra Maastricht. Performed by Juliet Fraser and Mark Knoop at St Hilda’s College, Oxford as part of the Oxford Lieder Festival on 13 th October 2021.
Rosalind Hannah Kendall for soprano, baritone and piano, 15 minutes
Commissioned by Leeds Lieder Festival, supported by Arts Council England. Performed by Carolyn Sampson, Roderick Williams and Joseph Middleton at Leeds Town Hall as part of Leeds Lieder Festival on 20 th June 2021.
This Unquiet Autumn Lara Agar for soprano and piano, 13 minutes
Commissioned by Juliet Fraser. Performed by Juliet Fraser and Mark Knoop at St Hilda’s College, Oxford as part of the Oxford Lieder Festival on 13 th October 2021.
Awards
22:22 Dan Mar-Molinero for jazz orchestra, 8 minutes
Performed by Dan Mar-Molinero Jazz Orchestra at Turner Sims Concert Hall, Southampton on 19 th March 2022.
Ash Sealey
Birds of Paradise Tori Freestone for jazz trio (flute/triangle, vocals and piano), 9 minutes
Performed by Tori Freestone and Alcyona Mick at The Elgar Rooms, Royal Albert Hall, London as part of the London Jazz Festival on 20 th November 2021.
1 hour
Performed by Tomos Williams, Soweto Kinch, Eadyth Crawford, Orphy Robinson, Aidan Thorne and Andy Hay with live interactive visuals by Simon Proffitt at Theatr y Werin, Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Wales on 24 th November 2021. Funding provided by Ty Cerdd.
Plant Based Patterns David de la Haye for jazz trio with field recordings, 8 minutes
Commissioned by Sound and Music / Sunderland Culture and performed live by David de la Haye, Graeme Wilson, Adam Stapleford and Mark Carroll on the BBC Radio 3 New Music Show on 19 th March 2022.
to love itself Alex Hitchcock for jazz ensemble, 10 minutes
Performed by Alex Hitchcock Quintet and Cherise AdamsBurnett on the album Dream Band released by Fresh Sound New Talent on 19 th November 2021.
Birdsong Music Publishing, part of HarrisonParrott Ltd, is proud to publish the music of Freya Waley-Cohen harrisonparrott.com/birdsong
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Daylighting Louise Drewett
community opera with libretto by Clare Shaw, 35 minutes
Commissioned by Royal Academy of Music. Performed by Netley Primary School and St Alban’s CE Primary School choirs, chamber ensemble and soloists from the Royal Academy of Music conducted by Otis Enokido-Lineham, at the Susie Sainsbury Theatre, London on 22 nd February 2022.
Isle of Sound Emily Peasgood soundscape project engaging communities in different parts of Thanet, Kent, 18 minutes
Commissioned by Turner Contemporary. Acousmatic work played through speakers installed in 7 train station platforms in Thanet from 20 th August until 17 th December 2021. Composed using sounds recorded by members of public during the first Covid-19 lockdown.
Commissioned and performed by the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain. Streamed on YouTube from the VOCES8 Centre, London as part of the NYCGB Fellowship on 15 th February 2022.
youth opera with libretto by Jessica Duchen, 1 hour
Commissioned by Garsington Opera and Opera North. Performed by the Garsington Opera Youth Company and Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Jack Ridley, at Garsington Opera, Wormsley on 29 th July 2021.
When a Child is a Witness - Requiem for Refugees Liz Dilnot Johnson for choir, children’s choir, mezzo soprano solo, organ, piano, violin/Hardanger fiddle and refugee groups, 1 hour 40 minutes
Commissioned by Ex Cathedra. Performed at Coventry Cathedral on 26 th February 2022 by Ex Cathedra & Academy of Vocal Music, Ravensdale Primary School, Gabriella Liandu, Rupert Jeffcoat, James Keefe, Lucy Russell, Kadialy Kouyate, Luis Prendi and Yathreb Ramadhan, Carriers of Hope, Sharing Cultures & Inini Initiative and the European Youth Music Refugee Choir, conducted by Jeffrey Skidmore and Rebecca Ledgard.
AESOP 2 Robin Haigh for untrained recorder soloist, 13 players and electronics, 6 minutes
Commissioned by Orchester im Treppenhaus. Performed by soloist Robin Haigh and Orchester im Treppenhaus, conducted by Thomas Posth, at Orangerie Herrenhausen, Hanover as part of the Composer Slam European Championship. Streamed on YouTube on 24 th February 2022.
Essential Relaxing Classical Hits Laurence Osborn for amplified solo soprano and 6 players, 45 minutes
Commissioned by Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and November Music Festival. Performed by Ensemble Klang and Agata Zubel at Bates Mill Blending Shed, Huddersfield as part of Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival on 20 th November 2021.
Madame ma bonne sœur Brett Dean for mezzo-soprano and string quartet, 30 minutes
Commissioned by Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Oxford Lieder Festival. Performed by Lotte Betts-Dean and the Armida Quartet at St Hilda’s College, Oxford as part of Oxford Lieder Festival on 13 th October 2021.
Music for Bosch People Alex Paxton for 2 saxophones, 2 trombones, 2 electric guitars, drums and loudspeakers, 15 minutes
Performed by Alex Paxton (leader), Mike de Souza, Matthew Herd, David Ingamells, Rob Luft and David Zucchi on the album Music for Bosch People released by Birmingham Record Company on 23 rd April 2021.
The big house Oliver Leith for string quartet, 25 minutes
Commissioned for the Ruisi Quartet by Peter and Veronica Lofthouse. Performed by the Ruisi Quartet at Wigmore Hall, London on 9 th December 2021.
All of us at Chester Music and Novello & Co congratulate Judith Weir on her Academy Fellowship in recognition of her excellence and impact in the art and craft of music creation
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Acts of Waves Edmund Finnis for orchestra, 17 minutes
Commissioned and performed by Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Domingo Hindoyan, at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on 3 rd March 2022.
À Mon Seul Désir Brian Irvine for violin and orchestra, 16 minutes
Commissioned by RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra. Performed by Darragh Morgan and Ulster Orchestra, conducted by Jac Van Steen, and broadcast as part of the BBC Radio 3 New Music Show on 5 th February 2022.
for orchestra, 17 minutes
Commissioned by Mahler Chamber Orchestra, supported by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation, the Karolina Blaberg Foundation and BBC Radio 3. Performed by Mahler Chamber Orchestra, conducted by George Benjamin, at the Royal Albert Hall, London as part of BBC Proms on 30 th August 2021.
Litanies Julian Anderson for cello and orchestra, 23 minutes
Commissioned by Radio France, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Swedish Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne. Performed by City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Alban Gerhardt, conducted by Kazuki Yamada, at the CBSO Centre, Birmingham on 30 th June 2021.
to an utterance Rebecca Saunders for piano and orchestra, 28 minutes
Performed by London Philharmonic Orchestra and Nicholas Hodges, conducted by Edward Gardner, at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London as part of SoundState Festival on 30 th March 2022.
We say THANK YOU for the wonderful compositions that people listen to all over the world and well beyond the borders of Germany
In Germany, GEMA currently represents the copyrights of around 80,000 members (composers, lyricists and music publishers) and of over two million rights owners from all over the world. It is one of the largest authors‘ societies for music worldwide.
In association with
In the late 1990s, the ‘Asian underground’ was the hottest sound in UK popular music. Combining bhangra, drum ‘n’ bass, Bollywood and hip hop, the distinctive mix of Western and Indian beats influenced musicians from Britney Spears to MIA, Jay-Z and Missy Elliott, to say nothing of raising the visibility of British-Indian artists such as Bally Sagoo, Panjabi MC and Nitin Sawhney (winner of the Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017). At the heart of this cross-cultural explosion was the percussionist, composer and producer Talvin Singh.
Born and brought up in Leytonstone, East London, Singh began playing tabla aged four. Although he studied for a year in India, it was in Western pop that he first made his name. In 1991 he began touring with Siouxsie and the Banshees, playing on their Kiss Them for Me single. In 1993 he also contributed tabla to Björk’s Venus as a Boy, and recorded Bollywood string orchestras for the Icelandic singer’s Debut album.
What were first exotic touches found greater creative focus in 1995, when Singh founded the club night Anokha (‘unique’) at Hoxton’s Blue Note with the promoter Sweety Kapoor and DJ State of Bengal. It was here that Singh honed his characteristic combination of Western electronica and traditional rhythms. While Indian classics played in the ambient room upstairs, Singh would play drum ‘n’ bass, jazz and jungle downstairs. Speaking in 2001, he rejected the idea that his goal was a fusion of styles: rather, it was ‘just about growing up in London’.
After early releases as Calcutta Cyber Café, Singh followed the acclaimed Anokhainspired compilation CD Soundz of the Asian Underground with two solo albums under his own name: OK (1998) and Ha (2001), the former winning him the 1999 Mercury Music Prize. Since then, he has continued to pursue his unique perspective as both percussionist and producer with a diverse list of collaborators, including Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Niladri Kumar and Ryuichi Sakamoto, as well as David Sylvian, Madonna and Richard Ashcroft.
Dante Thomas Adès ballet in three parts, 1 hour 22 minutes
Commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation for the Royal Ballet and choreographer Wayne McGregor. Part 1, Inferno , was co-commissioned by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam. Performed by The Royal Ballet, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and London Symphony Chorus, conducted by Thomas Adès, at Royal Opera House, London on 14 th October 2021.
Opsnizing Dad John Wallace opera in one act with libretto by Elizabeth Ingram-Wallace, 31 minutes
Performed at The Laidlaw Music Centre, University of St Andrews on 9 th March 2022 by Jamie McDougall, St Andrews Music Centre singers, The Wallace Collection and brass students and tutors from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Directed by Bede Williams.
Syllable Edward Jessen operatic sonic theatre work, 1 hour 20 minutes
Commissioned by Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in partnership with Decipherer Arts Projects, with funding from Arts Council England, PRS Foundation, RVW Trust and The Gemma Classical Music Trust. Performed by Trinity Laban Student Opera Cast / Contemporary Music Group, conducted by Gregory Rose, at Laban Theatre Deptford, London on 14 th January 2022.
The Shackled King John Casken drama for bass, mezzo-soprano and ensemble, 50 minutes
Commissioned by Barry Millington and Counterpoise Ensemble. Performed by Sir John Tomlinson, Rozanna Madylus and Counterpoise at Buxton Opera House as part of Buxton International Festival on 23 rd July 2021.
Witch Freya Waley-Cohen opera in one act with libretto by Ruth Mariner, 1 hour 9 minutes
Commissioned by the Royal Academy of Music for their 200 th anniversary. Performed by Royal Academy Opera, conducted by Ryan Wigglesworth and directed by Polly Graham, at Susie Sainsbury Theatre, London on 23 rd March 2022.
Beacons Emily Peasgood site-specific outdoor ritual, 29 minutes
Commissioned by Alison Neighbour and Creative Folkestone and performed by Emily Peasgood, Anna Braithwaite, Samuel Loveless and Francis Gush on Sunny Sands Beach, Folkestone on 19 th December 2021.
Down Gone Una Lee audio composition for voice and electronics that explores speech, homophonic translation and musicalisation, 18 minutes
Performed by Una Lee at Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin, Derry on 26 th March 2022.
Earthquake Mass Re-Imagined Kathy Hinde sound installation featuring twelve modified turntables, based on a 9 minute structure, the work runs with indeterminacies to produce a non-repeating composition
A Cryptic commission in partnership with The Anglo Mexican Foundation & Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Installed for 10 days at The Pipe Factory, Glasgow as part of Sonica Festival which premiered on 10 th March 2022.
The Mute Still Air Ed Carter
site-specific, sculptural sound installation and live performance by Grimethorpe Colliery Band, 13 minutes
Commissioned and produced by BEAM for the Wentworth & Elsecar Great Place project. The installation and recording and filming of the graphic score performance with Grimethorpe Colliery Band was first presented together at Wentworth Woodhouse at the WE Wonder Noir festival from 11 th to 18 th March 2022.
The Sound Voice Project: Paul, I Left My Voice Behind and Tanja Hannah Conway performance installation exploring stories of voice loss and identity, 23 minutes
Commissioned by Sound Voice and exhibited at Britten Pears Arts, Festival of New from 9 th to 11 th September 2021. Performers include Tanja Bage, Lucy Crowe, Hannah Conway, Marianne Haynes, Nick Trygstad, Roderick Williams, Paul Jameson, Rakhi Singh, Shout At Cancer Choir and Pug Halliday.
Candyfolk Space-Drum Alex Paxton for 6 players, jazz drum kit, improvising soloist, electronics and children’s choir, 34 minutes
Commissioned and performed by London Sinfonietta with Alex Paxton, Claire Chase, Martin France and The Belham Primary School Choir, conducted by Tim Anderson, at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, London on 31 st March 2022 as part of the SoundState Festival.
Concerto Grosso Joe Cutler for ten piece solo ensemble, orchestral strings and timpani, 17 minutes
Commissioned by Sage Gateshead and performed by RNS Moves and Royal Northern Sinfonia at Sage Gateshead on 11 th March 2022.
Houses Slide Laura Bowler for cycling soprano, ensemble and fixed and live electronics, 45 minutes
Commissioned and performed by London Sinfonietta with soprano Jessica Aszodi, conducted by Sian Edwards, at Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London on 9 th July 2021.
Scenes from the Wild Cheryl Frances-Hoad for tenor and chamber orchestra, 1 hour 10 minutes
Commissioned by City of London Sinfonia for their 50 th anniversary, with help from Arts Council England, PRS Foundation, Cockayne - Grants for the Arts and The London Community Foundation. Performed by William Morgan and City of London Sinfonia, conducted by Geoffrey Paterson, at Southwark Cathedral, London on 25 th November 2021.
SLEEPTALKER Robin Haigh for thirty piece chamber orchestra, 8 minutes
Performed by London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Jack Sheen, at Royal Festival Hall, London on 30 th June 2021.
In association with
As a composer, conductor and teacher, Sir George Benjamin is a central figure in UK music. Yet his influences almost all come from Europe, and particularly France. Introduced to Olivier Messiaen while still at school, he began taking monthly composition lessons with the French master at the age of 16 and piano lessons with his wife, Yvonne Loriod. Eight years later he attended courses at the Parisian electronic music studios of IRCAM, where he wrote Antara (1985–7) to mark the 10 th anniversary of the Pompidou Centre.
He has written several major works for the pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard – including Shadowlines (2001) for piano, shortlisted for the first British Composer Awards – and had important friendships with Pierre Boulez, Henri Dutilleux and Gérard Grisey.
Beginning with Ringed by the Flat Horizon (1979–80), commissioned by the BBC Proms when he was still just 20, and continuing through the landscapes of A Mind of Winter (1981) and the layered textures of Palimpsests (1998–2002), Benjamin’s vivid visual imagination has been supported by a French love of pungent harmonies and glittering orchestral colours. In his smaller pieces, he often turns to abstract or purely musical topics: Shadowlines is a series of six canons; Three Inventions for Chamber Orchestra (1993–5) a trio of studies in musical interactions. Still other pieces, such as Olicantus (2002), a 50 th birthday present for Oliver Knussen, are tributes to close friends and colleagues.
Benjamin’s music – equally architectural and lyrical – is constructed meticulously from small collections of pitches, which he once described as ‘like real people’, able to confront and change each other as people do. A chance meeting with the writer Martin Crimp in 2005 unlocked this inherently dramatic conception, turning Benjamin towards the theatre for the first time and a hitherto undiscovered fluency. Their collaboration has led to three operas to date: Into the Little Hill (2006), Written on Skin (2009–12), and Lessons in Love and Violence (2015–17), the second of which, winner of a British Composer Award in 2013, has become one of the most acclaimed works of the 21 st century.
A Short Story of Falling Joanna Marsh for upper voice choir and piano, 5 minutes
Commissioned by National Youth Choirs of Great Britain. Performed by the National Youth Girls’ Choir of Great Britain, conducted by Joanna Tomlinson, at Leighton Park School Theatre, Reading on 13 th August 2021.
All Shall Be Well Joanna Marsh for unaccompanied choir, 6 minutes
Commissioned for ORA Singers by RT Hon Patricia Hewitt. Performed by ORA Singers directed by Suzi Digby OBE and live streamed as part of the ORA Singers LIVE From London Summer Festival on 11 th July 2021.
Carmina
Ken Hesketh for upper voices, harp, organ and desk bells, 22 minutes
Commissioned by Temple Church, London. Performed by the Boys of Temple Church Choir with organist Charles Andrews and harpist Anne Denholm, conducted by Roger Sayer. Broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 11 th June 2021.
Seascapes Kristina Arakelyan for unaccompanied choir, 25 minutes
Commissioned and performed by BBC Singers, conducted by Ben Palmer, at Temple Church, London on 7 th October 2021.
There is no rose Cecilia McDowall for unaccompanied choir, 4 minutes
Commissioned by King’s College Cambridge. Performed by the Choir of King’s College Cambridge, conducted by Daniel Hyde. Broadcast as part of A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols on BBC Radio 4 on 24 th December 2021.
Benjamin Ealovega
In her monodrama for solo voice, King Harald’s Saga (1979), Judith Weir managed to squeeze the epic story of Harald Hadradi’s failed invasion of England into ten minutes of unaccompanied song. It is an extraordinary, yet entirely characteristic feat of compression. Every note of her music since has been carefully chosen, whether in her two subsequent ‘micro-operas’ The Black Spider (1984) and The Consolations of Scholarship (1985), or in her music for orchestra (effervescent in The Welcome Arrival of Rain , 2001, for the Minnesota Orchestra; intertwining in Forest , 1995, for the CBSO) or choir (as in her 1985 Christmas carol Illuminare , Jerusalam for King’s College, Cambridge, where she was one of the first women to study music, and her millennium celebration All the Ends of the Earth for the BBC Singers). On larger operatic canvases she has found international success with the Scottish folk trilogy The Vanishing Bridegroom (1990), the dark fairytale Blond Eckbert (1993) and the ingeniously constructed A Night at the Chinese Opera (1987), among the most acclaimed British operas since Benjamin Britten’s Death in Venice .
The clarity and precision of Weir’s music has also ensured its accessibility to both listeners and performers. Many of her works have been written for specific schools and community groups across the UK; others are designed to be equally rewarding for both professional and amateur performers. Weir has created several opera films for TV, including Scipio’s Dream , broadcast by the BBC in 1991, but the public appeal of her music received its highest acknowledgement in 2014 when she succeeded Sir Peter Maxwell Davies as Master of the Queen’s Music. The first woman to hold this role, she wrote music for the late Queen’s 90 th birthday and Platinum Jubilee, as well as her funeral earlier this year.
Weir was made a CBE in 2005. She has had success at The Ivors before, winning the Classical Music Award in 2015 and the Choral Award in 2018 for her oratorio In the Land of Uz (2017). The Ivors Academy is delighted to recognise her once again, this time with its highest honour – Academy Fellowship.
PRS for Music , our headline sponsor
BBC Radio 3, our broadcast partner
ABRSM, Musicians’ Union and Music Publishers Association for their award category sponsorship
Hannah Peel and Tom Service, our hosts
Capitol House Productions for the video production and stage management Chris Maclean at CM Audio for the audio editing Mike Wilson and Meltcharm Products Ltd for our exquisite statuettes
All the judges on this year’s panels Sarah Nicolls, our Independent Adjudicator This year’s award presenters
Kristina
Mark Allan for our official photography and Stabal TV for our official videography
Rebecca Johns and team at Premier PR Joanne Viner for the programme production
Tim Rutherford Johnson for writing our award recipient profiles DMCS and Principal Colour for our printing
All the staff at The Ivors Academy, in particular
Director of Awards, Fran Matthews Awards Manager, Cindy Truong Awards Manager, Tilly Flynn Awards Administrator, Kate Spiers
The Ivors Academy thanks Ryttersgaard, Prudence Jaguelin and team at the British Museum and BenugoThe Ivors Academy Board Fiona Bevan, VV Brown, Rebecca Ferguson, Tom Gray (Chair), Crispin Hunt, Emma McClarkin, Julia Montero, Ailís Ní Ríain, Anna Phoebe, Orphy Robinson, Kevin Sargent, Emily Saunders, Oliver Vibrans, Imogen Williams (shared role), Hope Winter (shared role), Ayanna Witter-Johnson
Chief Executive Graham Davies
The Ivors Academy Trust Board Michael Adex, Natasha Baldwin, Michael Dugher, Cliff Fluet (Chair), Lucy Francis (Vice Chair), Sally Ann Gross, Charlotte Harris, Melanie Johnson, Katie Lam, Peter Leathem, Silvina Munich (special advisor), Danny Poku, Oliver Vibrans
Awards Committee Mat Andasun, Iain Archer, Cassell, Nainita Desai, Crispin Hunt (Chair), Marlon James-Edwards, Martha Lewis, Anna Neale, Sandy Nuttgens, Bankey Ojo, Anna Phoebe, Orphy Robinson, Renell Shaw
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