2020
The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
BBC Radio 3 Tuesday 1 st December 2020 7.30pm to 10pm Hosted by Kate Molleson and Tom Service
The Ivors Composer Awards sees the presentation of Ivor Novello Awards to recognise creative excellence in classical, jazz and sound arts.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE NOMINEES AND WINNERS Your talent creates the music that the world loves.
The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
Contents Welcomes 05
The Ivors Academy
07
BBC Radio 3
09
PRS for Music
14
Chamber Orchestral
16
Large Orchestral
20
Community and Participation
26 Choral 28
Jazz Composition for Large Ensemble
30
Jazz Composition for Small Ensemble
32
Large Chamber
34
Small Chamber
38
Solo or Duo
40
Sound Art
43
Stage Works
Special Awards 22 Innovation 36
Outstanding Works Collection
44
Academy Fellowship
10
An Ivor Novello Award
13
Presentation Order
46
The Judges
03
Contents
Contents
The Nominations
MUSIC UNITES We champion all music creators.
BECOME A MEMBER OF THE ACADEMY TODAY ivorsacademy.com/membership
The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
The Ivors Academy Welcome
This continues to be an incredibly difficult year for music and the arts. At such a time it’s essential that we unite in our recognition of exceptional talent and the importance of commissioning, funding and playing new compositions. As a sector we’ve been hit hard by the pandemic, and as we hopefully emerge from the worst of the health crisis we will rebuild our industry by putting contemporary composers and music creators at the centre of our efforts.
The Ivors Academy
Welcome
A very warm welcome to The Ivors Composer Awards 2020. On behalf of everyone at The Ivors Academy we’re delighted that you’re part of this celebration of outstanding creativity in composing for classical, jazz and sound arts.
This year’s The Ivors Composer Awards sees 53 works nominated across eleven categories, with over 50% by first-time nominees, demonstrating the strength of creative talent across generations of composers. A huge congratulations go to all our nominees and winners on your incredible achievements. We’re delighted to welcome Julian Joseph OBE to the Academy as a Fellow, and to honour Yazz Ahmed with the Innovation Award and Cecilia McDowall with the Outstanding Works Collection Award.
Crispin Hunt Chair
Thank you to our sponsor PRS for Music for your ongoing support and friendship, and thank you to our broadcast partner BBC Radio 3, who will announce this year’s winners in an exclusive programme and do so much to nurture and promote music in the UK.
Graham Davies CEO 05
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The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
BBC Radio 3 Welcome
It has not been an easy year for composers and performers as the pandemic has hit their livelihoods in ways we all know: lack of performance opportunities to present music and connect with audiences; budgets tightened due to uncertain future – with all the commissioning issues this entails; the double-sided result of closing concert halls and venues, and questions around whether traditional audiences will return and if we can all continue to reach and to develop broader audiences in this new era.
BBC Radio 3
Welcome
Welcome to this special edition of The Ivors Composer Awards, which we are delighted to bring to audiences as a broadcast ceremony on BBC Radio 3.
In all this, The Ivors Composer Awards, in all its glory as a key part of Radio 3’s schedule, is a welcome island of certainty amidst a lot of uncertainty – and we are thrilled to be able to bring this wonderful celebration of new music to wider audiences at home. One of our main enthusiasms here at Radio 3 is to put a spotlight on contemporary composers, supporting their work and enabling that connection between new music and curious listeners. This is true now more than ever: since the pandemic started we commissioned and broadcast new compositions nearly every week, thanks to our 50 Postcards from Composers. We have also teamed up with partners such as the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival to make sure experimental, contemporary repertoire can go on despite venue closures – just providing a different home for it: the airwaves of our station and curious and hungry audiences worldwide. So welcome to The Ivors Composer Awards on BBC Radio 3: a heavenly match, where we celebrate some of the most cutting-edge, innovative, trailblazing creations by contemporary composers, and provide our audiences with a chance to cherish and to be inspired by great new music, and to celebrate those who compose it. 07
Alan Davey Controller BBC Radio 3, BBC Proms, BBC Orchestras & Choirs
FOR MUSIC
PRS for Music, proudly representing classical composers and publishers. Congratulations to all winners and nominees at The Ivors Composer Awards 2020.
BECAUSE MUSIC MATTERS
prsformusic.com
The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
PRS for Music Welcome
Congratulations to the exceptional composers being honoured at The Ivors Composer Awards this year.
Now more than ever, it is paramount that we celebrate and support composers and the wider ecosystem that surrounds them, including the performers, commissioners, venues, publishers and all those behind the scenes who play a vital role in bringing these works to life, on and off the stage. Together, we must ensure the classical music community can continue to innovate and grow, even during these challenging and unprecedented times. Over half of the compositions shortlisted this year are from first-time nominees, which is a testament to the depth of the talent of composers in the UK. We are also incredibly proud that two of the composers nominated for an Ivor Novello Award this year have taken part in PRS for Music development workshops, and 26 of the nominees received funding from our charity partner, PRS Foundation.
PRS for Music
Welcome
PRS for Music has supported this prestigious ceremony every year since its inception in 2003. Needless to say, 2020 has been the most extraordinary of all those years.
Andrea C. Martin CEO
At PRS for Music, we continue to champion classical music creators through composer workshops, showcases and commissioning opportunities with organisations such as Cheltenham Music Festival, The Hermes Experiment, New Music Scotland, Tš Cerdd, Wild Plum Arts, The Berkeley Ensemble and most recently, The Riot Ensemble and BBC Radio 3. Thank you to all of the nominees and winners for their passion and creativity, and to The Ivors Academy for showcasing their remarkable work.
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Nigel Elderton Chair
The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
An Ivor Novello Award Statuette
The finely crafted statuette – created in 1955 by Hazel Underwood, a spirited student at St Martin’s School of Art, London – distils the awards’ values of creativity and craftsmanship. The mysterious female figure singing from a songbook is Euterpe, Greek muse of singing and lyric poetry. Its expressive, textured surface may have been inspired by the work of Elizabeth Frink, who taught sculpture at St Martin’s School of Art. Underwood oversaw production of the statuettes for a few years. At one point, they were made by metal foundry Corvic, which was taken over by Mike Wilson in 1974; he renamed it Meltcharm Ltd in 1984. Today, they’re cast at specialist foundry Investacast in Ilfracombe, and have been hand-finished by Mike since 1975. Their brass name plates have been engraved by the same engraver since then, too. The statuettes were sand-cast at the time. In 2005, the Academy asked Mike to revert to the original investment casting (or lost-wax casting) process. To facilitate this, Mike met Underwood through a mutual contact. The exacting sculptor wasn’t happy with the surface detailing of the sand-cast statuette she was originally shown, but she gave the nod for one lent by Sir John Dankworth (presented to him in 1957) to be used as a master pattern. At his workshop in Gloucestershire, Mike now gives each statuette its antique bronze finish and attaches the wooden base and engraved brass name plate to it. Each completed statuette weighs 5lb, 3oz. ‘I usually commission around 60 statuettes each year,’ he says. ‘The number can vary, as sometimes several collaborating songwriters are joint-winners. Outside the Academy, only the engraver and me know the winners’ names.’ He is proud of the fact that the statuettes are cast and hand-finished in the UK: ‘In their acceptance speeches, winners often say they value their Ivor Novello Award above all others. Each one is unique and its weight enhances its quality.’ DOMINIC LUTYENS 11
Statuette
An Ivor Novello Award
As each recipient of an Ivor Novello Award will know, the treasured solid bronze statuette they’re clutching is highly original, although few know about its origins and how it’s made. Named after Welsh composer and actor Ivor Novello, it rewards British and Irish talents in songwriting and musical composition. First presented by the Songwriters Guild of Great Britain at a televised ceremony held at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London in 1956, the statuette in its original form is still presented at the Academy’s two award ceremonies, The Ivors and The Ivors Composer Awards.
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AND LET’S KEEP MAKING MUSIC Help the next generation of composers to start their careers and reach their potential. Donate at ivorsacademy.com/trust
Registered charity no. 1080325
The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
BBC Radio 3 Broadcast Presentation Order 01
Chamber Orchestral
02
Large Orchestral
03
Community and Participation
04 Innovation 06
Jazz Composition for Large Ensemble
07
Jazz Composition for Small Ensemble
08
Large Chamber
09
Small Chamber
10
Outstanding Works Collection
11
Solo or Duo
12
Sound Art
13
Stage Works
14
Academy Fellowship
13
BBC Radio 3 Broadcast
Presentation Order
05 Choral
The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
Chamber Orchestral The Nominees
Grin Robin Haigh
for chamber orchestra, 10 minutes
Awards
Commissioned by Britten Sinfonia and premiered in the UK by Britten Sinfonia directed from the violin by Thomas Gould at St Andrew’s Hall, Norwich on 12 th November 2019
Hover Sally Beamish
Ashley Coombes
for two oboe, two horns and strings, 13 minutes Commissioned by Academy of St Martin in the Fields and premiered in the UK by Academy of St Martin in the Fields directed by Tomo Keller at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London on 12 th November 2019
Piano Concerto Ryan Wigglesworth
Benjamin Ealovega
for piano and chamber orchestra, 22 minutes Commissioned by BBC Radio 3 and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and premiered in the UK by Marc-AndrĂŠ Hamelin and Britten Sinfonia conducted by Ryan Wigglesworth at the Royal Albert Hall, London on 28 th August 2019
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The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
Prometheus Symphony Stuart MacRae
Commissioned by Lammermuir Festival and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and premiered in the UK by Jennifer France, Paul Carey Jones and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Matthew Halls at St Mary’s Parish Church, Haddington on 19 th September 2019
Une Saison en Enfer Josephine Stephenson for tenor and string orchestra, 20 minutes
Commissioned by Wigmore Hall and premiered in the UK by Allan Clayton and Aurora Orchestra conducted by Brett Dean at Wigmore Hall, London on 4 th December 2019
15
Chamber Orchestral
Loudon MacRae
for soprano, bass-baritone and chamber orchestra, 32 minutes
The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
Large Orchestral The Nominees
Clarinet Concerto Mark Simpson
BoLutoslawski
Commissioned by BBC Radio 3 and BBC Philharmonic and premiered in the UK by Mark Simpson and BBC Philharmonic conducted by Ben Gernon at Bridgewater Hall, Manchester on 15 th June 2019
Hawaii Hawaii Hawaii Joe Cutler
Ian Cuthbert
for saxophone and orchestra, 20 minutes Commissioned by BBC Radio 3 and premiered in the UK by Trish Clowes and BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Benjamin Palmer at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London on 6 th December 2019
Horror Vacui Jonny Greenwood
for solo violin and 68 solo strings, 30 minutes
Ian Patrick
Awards
for clarinet and orchestra, 15 minutes
Commissioned by BBC Proms and premiered in the UK by Daniel Pioro, BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Proms Youth Ensemble conducted by Hugh Brunt at Royal Albert Hall, London on 10 th September 2019
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The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
Night Music Jasper Dommett Commissioned by BBC National Orchestra of Wales Composition, Wales and premiered in the UK by BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by B. Tommy Andersson at BBC Hoddinot Hall, Cardiff on 4 th March 2020
The Anvil Emily Howard
for soprano, bass baritone, chamber choir, youth choir, chorus and orchestra, 40 minutes Commissioned by BBC Radio 3 and Manchester International Festival and premiered in the UK by Christopher Purves, Kate Royal, BBC Singers, HallĂŠ Choir, HallĂŠ Youth Choir, Ancoats Community Choir and BBC Philharmonic conducted by Ben Gernon at Bridgewater Hall, Manchester on 7 th July 2019 Libretto by Michael Symmons Roberts
17
Large Orchestral
Demi Joseph Lewis
for orchestra, 10 minutes
MUSIC CREATORS MENTORING PROGRAMME Supported by The Ivors Academy Trust
“Totally blown away by the amazing things my students and mentees are getting up to in these crazy times, the innovative music they are creating, and exploring these new paths in an inspiring first session as a mentor with The Ivors Academy.” Nathan James Deardon, Composer Mentor with The Music Creators Mentoring Programme Photo by Ben Tomlin Photography
DONATE AND LET’S KEEP MAKING MUSIC Donate at ivorsacademy.com/trust
Registered charity no. 1080325
The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
Community and Participation The Nominees
I am Alban Anne Dudley
Shelia Rock
Commissioned by Hertfordshire Schools Music Service and premiered in the UK by massed Hertfordshire Primary and Secondary choirs, Hertfordshire Youth Choir, Hertfordshire Schools Symphony Orchestra, Maximilian Laurie, Peter Martin and Sofia Frangiamore conducted by Rufus Frowde at Royal Albert Hall, London on 8 th March 2020 Libretto by Ian McMillan
More Up Oliver Vibrans for chamber orchestra and electronics, 16 minutes Commissioned by Orchestras Live and premiered in the UK by the Able Orchestra conducted by Ellie Slorach at BBC Philharmonic Studio, Salford on 29 th January 2020
The Big Picture Judith Weir CBE
for two choirs (unison/SATB) and instrumental ensemble, 19 minutes Sim Cannety-Clarke
Awards
for mixed choir, soloists, narrator and orchestra, 30 minutes
Commissioned by Sound Festival and Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums and premiered in the UK by Con Anima Chamber Choir, local children and adult singers, Joanna Nicholson, Lisa Nicol and Jeremy Coleman conducted by Roger B Williams MBE at Aberdeen Art Gallery on 31 st October 2019
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The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
Tuqus Bushra El-Turk
for multi ability symphony orchestra, 9 minutes
What Do You Do With An Idea? Paul Rissmann Emma Miranda Moore
for orchestra, choir, narrator and dancer, 28 minutes Commissioned by Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and premiered in the UK by London Symphony Orchestra, LSO Community Choir, LSO Discovery Junior Choir, Carlie Angel and Paul Rissmann conducted by Felix Mildenberger at Barbican, London on 1 st June 2019 Libretto by Kobi Yamada
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Community and Participation
Commissioned by LSO Discovery and premiered in the UK by London Symphony Orchestra, LSO On Track Young Musicians and Guildhall School of Music & Drama musicians conducted by Sir Simon Rattle at Trafalgar Square, London on 30 th June 2019
Seb JJ Peters
The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
Bringing things together, in the music of trumpeter and composer Yazz Ahmed, is not a path to closing off perspectives, but a way to open them out. Ahmed studied jazz and classical music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, but it wasn’t until she began to explore her Arabic roots (her father is Bahraini, and she lived in Bahrain until she was nine) that she found a voice that she could call her own. This journey of discovery is reflected in her first album, Finding My Way Home (2011), a psychedelic blend of Arabic song, North African drumming and Miles Davis cool, and on 2017’s La Saboteuse she grappled still further with her inner creative demons, earning rave reviews including The Wire’s jazz album of the year. But it was the concert suite Polyhymnia, commissioned by Tomorrow’s Warriors and PRS Women Make Music (performed in 2015 and recorded last year), that drew Ahmed to extend her horizons to the lives of great women from history, from Rosa Parks to British jazz pioneer Barbara Thompson. Ahmed’s music reflects this opening out, drawing in new influences from New Orleans marching bands to ‘Men of Harlech’ (as adapted by the Suffragettes), as well as many new musical collaborators. Ahmed has continued to explore and expand upon her heritage, spending a year in 2016 working with the London Symphony Orchestra as part of its Soundhub scheme for young composers, and in 2018 composing a movement (Saturn) for the Ligeti Quartet’s The Planets 2018 project, as well as performing with the Lebanese-American pianist Tarek Amani, the Algerian singer Amel Zen and the British composer Susheela Raman. Further still, both La Saboteuse and Polyhymnia have been given remix reincarnations by an international array of DJs and producers. Ahmed’s softly keening playing has also appeared prominently on records by Radiohead, These New Puritans and Transglobal Underground. She plays a quarter-tone flugelhorn, specially commissioned to allow her to insert Arabic scales within the spaces of European jazz and classical music. Innovation in composition comes in many forms and this award recognises trailblazers and inventive music creators who are truly unique talents. For opening out musical perspectives, this year it recognises Yazz Ahmed. TIM RUTHERFORD-JOHNSON
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Innovation
Awards
Innovation Yazz Ahmed
Berlin Copenhagen London Los Angeles Madrid New York Paris Sydney Tokyo
congratulates composers:
Cheryl Frances-Hoad Rachel Portman Judith Weir
wisemusicclassical.com
The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
Choral The Nominees
Bogoróditse d̃ d̃Dévo, Ráduysia d̃ Cheryl Frances-Hoad
Brant Tilds
Commissioned by Steve Chevis in loving memory of Barbara Chevis for Sonoro’s Choral Inspirations Project and premiered in the UK by Sonoro conducted by Neil Ferris at St Andrew and St Teilo’s Church, Cardiff on 29 th June 2019
Earth Song Rachel Portman
Benjamin Ealovega
for SATB choir, 20 minutes Commissioned by BBC Radio 3 and premiered in the UK by BBC Singers conducted by Sofi Jeannin at St Paul’s Church, London on 27 th September 2019 Libretto by poet Nick Drake and climate activist Greta Thunburg
I Sing of Love Bernard Hughes
for SATB choir (with divisi), 13 minutes
Sarah-Jane Field
Awards
for SATB choir, 3 minutes
Commissioned by Seattle Pro Musica and premiered in the UK by BBC Singers conducted by Eamonn Dougan broadcast during BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert on 6 th March 2020
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The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
Pietà Richard Blackford
for mezzo soprano, baritone, SATB chorus, optional children’s chorus and string orchestra, 39 minutes
Pious Anthems and Voluntaries Michael Finnissy
Ben Britton
for soloists, organ, flute, violin and choir, 84 minutes
Commissioned by Master and Fellows of St John’s College, Cambridge and premiered in the UK by Choir of St John’s College Cambridge, Glen Dempsey, James Anderson-Besant, Sarah O’Flynn, and Cecily Ward directed by Andrew Nethsingha at St John’s College Chapel, Cambridge on 28 th June 2019
27
Choral
Commissioned by Bournemouth Symphony Chorus and St Albans Choral Society and premiered in the UK by Jennifer Johnston, Stephen Gadd, Amy Dickson, Bournemouth Symphony Chorus and Orchestra with the Bournemouth Symphony Youth Chorus conducted by Gavin Carr at The Lighthouse, Poole on 22nd June 2019
The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
Jazz Composition for Large Ensemble The Nominees
A Tall Tale Tom Haines
for jazz orchestra, 8 minutes
Awards
Premiered in the UK by Leeds College of Music Contemporary Jazz Orchestra at The Venue, Leeds on 2 nd December 2019
Crepuscule Charlie Bates for jazz orchestra, 8 minutes
Premiered in the UK by National Youth Jazz Orchestra at The Apex Theatre, Bury St Edmunds on 5 th April 2019
Present Jonny Mansfield
for jazz orchestra, choir and soloist, 10 minutes
Sam Dye
Premiered in the UK by Jonny Mansfield’s Elftet at the Teignmouth Jazz Festival on 20 th October 2019 Libretto by Ella Hohnen-Ford
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The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
The Pink Shagpile Carpet Story AKA The King Of Spank Sam Eastmond Commissioned by JW3 and PRS Foundation and premiered in the UK by Spike Orchestra conducted by Sam Eastmond at JW3 Jewish Community Centre, London on 17th October 2019
What Is Understanding Jelly Cleaver for ensemble and vocals, 6 minutes
Premiered in the UK at the Windmill, London on 2 1st May 2019
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Jazz Composition for Large Ensemble
for jazz orchestra, 18 minutes
The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
Jazz Composition for Small Ensemble The Nominees
Calvados Alex Hitchcock
Andrei Marini
Premiered in the UK by Aub Quartet at Vortex Jazz Club, London on 4 th February 2020
elemental utterances Matt London
for alto flute, tenor saxophone, violin, double bass, drums and voice, 12ž minutes Premiered in the UK by Ensemble Entropy with LorÊ Lixenberg and Mark Sanders at Listen Cambridge on 26 th April 2019 Mark Allan
Awards
for saxophones, double bass, drums and synthesizers, 6 minutes
New Ears Suite Calum Gourlay
for tenor saxophone, tenor trombone, double bass and drums, 48 minutes Premiered in the UK by Helena Kay, Kieran McLeod, Calum Gourlay and James Maddren at St Ives Jazz Club on 22 nd October 2019
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The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
The Vision They Had Renell Shaw for seven-piece band, 10 minutes
Weird Weather Mark Lockheart
Dave Stapleton
for saxophones, keyboards, bass violin and drums, 8 minutes Premiered in the UK by Mark Lockheart, Elliot Galvin, Tom Herbert and Dave Smith at the Hackney Empire, London on 11 th December 2019
31
Jazz Composition for Small Ensemble
Commissioned by The Vortex Jazz Club and premiered in the UK by the Renell Shaw Fore at the London Jazz Festival on 21 st November 2019
The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
Large Chamber The Nominees
gleann ciùin Claire M Singer
Martin Gray
Awards
for organ, violin, viola, four cello and two horns, 17 minutes Commissioned by London Contemporary Orchestra for the PRS Foundation New Music Biennial 2019 with support from the Richard Thomas Foundation and premiered in the UK by Claire M Singer and the London Contemporary Orchestra at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London on 5 th July 2019
Honey Siren Oliver Leith
for string ensemble, 17 minutes Commissioned by 12 ensemble and premiered in the UK by 12 ensemble at LSO St Luke’s, London on 19 th May 2019
No 50. (The Garden) Richard Ayres
for amplified ensemble, bass voice and soundtrack, 52 minutes Commissioned by Asko|Schönberg and London Sinfonietta with initial development funded by The Royal Opera and premiered in the UK by Joshua Bloom and London Sinfonietta conducted by Geoffrey Paterson at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London on 17 th April 2019
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The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
Scar Rebecca Saunders
Commissioned by Festival Acht Brücken | Musik für Köln with financial support from the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Casa da Música Porto & Festival d’Automne à Paris and premiered in the UK by Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, conducted by Michael Wendeberg at CBSO Centre, Birmingham on 15th December 2019
The Centre is Everywhere Edmund Finnis for 12 string players, 13 minutes
Lisa Illean
Commissioned by Manchester Collective for the PRS Foundation New Music Biennial 2019 and premiered in the UK by Manchester Collective at Purcell Room, London on 6 th July 2019
33
Large Chamber
Astrid Ackermann
for 15 soloists and conductor, 19 minutes
The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
Small Chamber The Nominees
Aroha Robert Laidlow
Jonathan Slater
Premiered in the UK by Elias Quartet at Wigmore Hall, London on 23 rd May 2019
It’s Not You, It’s Me Elena Langer Anastasia Tikhonova
for soprano, baritone and piano, 11½ minutes Commissioned by Independent Opera and premiered in the UK by Nia Coleman, Kyu Choi and Simon Lepper at Wigmore Hall, London on 3 rd October 2019 Libretto by Glyn Maxwell
Kraken Cello Concertante Amir Konjani
for Kraken cello, trumpet, violin and Kraken piano, 10 minutes ThirdMan Production
Awards
for string quartet, 11 minutes
Commissioned by London Symphony Orchestra (LSO Jerwood composer+) and premiered in the UK by David Alberman, David Geoghegan, Orlando Jopling and Zeynep Ozsuca at LSO St Luke’s, London on 2 nd November 2019
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The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
…shadows that in darkness dwell… Timothy Cooper
Commissioned by The Night With… and premiered in the UK by Ensemble 1604 at Scottish Story Telling Centre, Edinburgh on 10 th December 2019
Six Movements Daniel Fardon for string quartet, 20 minutes
Commissioned by Royal Philharmonic Society and Wigmore Hall and premiered in the UK by Bloomsbury Quartet at Wigmore Hall, London on 17 th July 2019
35
Small Chamber
Robert Cooper
for counter tenor, recorder, theorbo, baroque cello and electronics, 17 minutes
Karina Lyburn
The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
Outstanding Works Collection Cecilia McDowall
Awards
Her music also engages with secular themes; whether the diaries and letters of Scott of the Antarctic (Seventy Degrees Below Zero, 2012), the inscrutable poetry of the sea areas around the British Isles in The Shipping Forecast (2012) or Harriet Quimby’s pioneering flight across the English Channel of 1912 (Night Flight, 2014, for which she won the Choral category of the British Composer Awards). In these works she often collaborates with the poets Kevin Crossley-Holland and Seán Street. Often sacred and secular are combined, as in her insertion of Psalm 107 ‘They that go down to the sea in ships’ into The Shipping Forecast, or her most recent major work, Da Vinci Requiem (2019), in which extracts from the notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci cast new light on the words of the Requiem Mass. The theme of heroic travel is one to which McDowall often returns and is most fully realised in her 2018 cantata Everyday Wonders: The Girl from Aleppo, a retelling for choirs, violin and piano of the story of Nujeen Mustafa, the Kurdish teenager who in 2014–15 travelled 3,500 miles in a wheelchair from Aleppo to Germany to escape the Syrian Civil War. Other recurring influences on her music include the landscape and weather of Scotland, northern Europe and the polar icecaps, and the poetry of Shakespeare. Cecilia McDowall’s compositional legacy is exceptional and today that is recognised with an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Works Collection. TIM RUTHERFORD-JOHNSON
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Outstanding Works Collection
For the UK – a nation of choirs and choral singers – Cecilia McDowall is one of its foremost and most admired composers. Although she has written major instrumental works, including for the City of London Sinfonia and Welsh Chamber Orchestra, the human voice is never far from her music, and her large output includes sacred works for Durham, Liverpool, Westminster and St Paul’s Cathedrals, as well as works for professional, amateur and children’s choirs alike.
The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
Solo or Duo The Nominees
A Line Alongside Itself Newton Armstrong
for solo cello with four pre-recorded cellos and electronic sounds, 22 minutes
Awards
Commissioned by SĂŠverine Ballon and premiered in the UK by SĂŠverine Ballon and Newton Armstrong at St Mary at Hill, London on 19 th July 2019
Cloud Engine Thomas Gibbs
for solo tuba with live electronics, 10 minutes Commissioned by Stuart Beard and premiered in the UK by Stuart Beard and Thomas Gibbs at Royal Academy of Music, London on 29 th May 2019
Diaries of the Early Worm Gareth Moorcraft for solo alto recorder, 5 minutes
Premiered in the UK by Tabea Debus at London International Festival of Early Music, Blackheath on 8 th November 2019
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The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
Duet for Eight Strings Sir Harrison Birtwistle Commissioned by Nash Ensemble with funds provided by Arts Council National Lottery, Dr Shirley Ellis & the Nash Concert Society and premiered in the UK by Lawrence Power and Adrian Brendel at Wigmore Hall, London on 12 th April 2019 Solo or Duo
Philip Gatward
for viola and cello, 14 minutes
kindly, softly Georgia Denham for violin and piano, 15 minutes
Commissioned by Music We’d Like to Hear and premiered in the UK by Mira Benjamin and Philip Thomas at St Mary at Hill, London on 5 th July 2019
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The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
Sound Art The Nominees
Intact Sophie Cooper
Nic Chapman
Commissioned and premiered at Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival on 18 th November 2019
On Common Ground Caroline Devine
abstract vocal fragments, synthesizers and electronic instruments, field recordings and voices, 24 minutes Commissioned by Brave New Worlds Theatre Company and premiered in the UK at Greenham Common, Berkshire on 26 th July 2019
Requiem for the 21 st Century Khyam Allami
oud, 16-piece string section and SATB chorus, 38 minutes
Johanne Issa
Awards
vocal and trombone recordings edited and manipulated for the Huddersfield Immersive Sound System, 15 minutes
Commissioned by Opera North for the PRS Foundation New Music Biennial 2019 and premiered in the UK at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London on 5 th July 2019
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The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
The Sculptor Speaks Olivia Louvel
electroacoustic resounding of a 1961 recording of Barbara Hepworth’s voice, 35 minutes Commissioned by and premiered in the UK on Resonance Extra on 10 th January 2020 Sound Art
Twittering Machines Kathy Hinde
Simon Webb
bespoke vinyl, objects, live electronics, field recordings and video projections, 30 minutes Premiered in the UK at Sonica Festival, Glasgow on 2 nd November 2019
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The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
Stage Works The Nominees
Abomination: A DUP Opera Conor Mitchell
Neil Harrison
Commissioned by The Belfast Ensemble with the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and premiered in the UK by Dawn Burns, Rebecca Caine, Matthew Cavan, Christopher Cull, Tony Flynn, John Porter, Caolan Keaveney, Helenna Howie, James Cooper, Tara Greene and The Belfast Ensemble conducted by Tom Brady at Lyric Theatre, Belfast on 8 th November 2019
Denis & Katya Philip Venables
Harald Hoffmann
opera: for mezzo soprano, baritone, four amplified cellos, tape and video, 65 minutes Commissioned by Opera Philadelphia, Music Theatre Wales and OpĂŠra Orchestre National Montpellier and premiered in the UK by Emily Edmonds and Johnny Herford with the London Sinfonietta and Sound Intermedia directed by Ted Huffman at Riverfront Theatre, Newport on 27 th February 2020 Libretto by Ted Huffman
Sense of Time Gabriel Prokofiev
Alexander Panov
ballet: for symphony orchestra and electronics, 28 minutes Commissioned by Birmingham Royal Ballet in partnership with the Royal Philharmonic Society and premiered in the UK by Birmingham Royal Ballet and Royal Ballet Sinfonia conducted by Thomas Jung at Birmingham Hippodrome, Birmingham on 12 th June 2019
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Stage Works
Awards
opera: for chamber orchestra, six soloists and SATB chorus, 70 minutes
James Joseph Music Managament
The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
Julian Joseph’s hard swinging, fast switching piano playing and genre-defying compositions, embracing influences from Prokofiev to Herbie Hancock, have been at the forefront of jazz in the UK for more than thirty years. In 1994 he became the first British black jazz musician to host a concert series at the Wigmore Hall (captured on the 1995 album In Concert at the Wigmore Hall) and the following year the first to headline a late night BBC Prom, with the Julian Joseph All Star Big Band. His playing is documented across half a dozen albums as leader or co-leader, from 1991’s The Language of Truth to 2012’s Live at the Vortex in London, as well as on numerous appearances on albums by Courtney Pine, Steve Williamson, Billy Cobham, Branford Marsalis and others; he has also worked outside jazz, playing for musicians including the German rock singer Nina Hagen, the Icelandic songwriter Emiliana Torrini and the English drum’n’bass producer Adam F. As composer, Joseph’s work includes a series of innovative jazz works for performance by children and in schools, dramatising stories from black history such as the nineteenthcentury violin prodigy George Bridgetower (Bridgetower, 2007), the achievements of black athletes in ‘Negro Leagues’ baseball in the 1930s (Shadowball, 2010), and black soldiers’ experiences of World War I (Trench Brothers, 2014). Joseph’s influence as an educator may exceed even that as a performer: in 1998 he was central to the creation of the ABRSM’s jazz syllabus, and in 2013 he founded the Julian Joseph Jazz Academy, offering talented young people the chance to work with leading international musicians. He is a programme host for BBC Radio 3 and made TV documentaries and series on jazz for Meridian, Sky TV and the BBC. In 2010, The Ivors Academy (then known as BASCA) awarded him a Gold Badge in recognition of his contribution to supporting the work of British songwriters and composers. This year it goes one step further and bestows the Academy Fellowship, its highest honour in recognition of excellence and impact in the art and craft of music creation. TIM RUTHERFORD-JOHNSON
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Academy Fellowship
Awards
Academy Fellowship Julian Joseph OBE
The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
The Judges
An Ivor Novello Award represents peer recognition.
Christopher Augustine
Aaron Cassidy
Alice Farnham
trombonist
composer and conductor
conductor
Ain Bailey
Jane Chapman
Mark Forkgen
sound artist
harpsichordist
principal conductor, Kokoro
Michael Bawtree
Lloyd Coleman
Camilla George
conductor and organist
Associate Music Director, Paraorchestra
saxophonist
Toks Dada
former Creative Director, Schott Music
Naomi Belshaw consultant for composers and artists
Ned Bigham composer
Gary Carpenter composer
John Casken composer
classical music programmer, curator and producer
Sally Groves MBE
Thomas Guthrie stage director and musician
Tansy Davies
Geoff Hannan
composer
Nathaniel Facey composer and alto saxophonist
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composer
Clifton Harrison Kreutzer Quartet violist
The Judges
Awards Panels
The Ivors Academy would like to thank all who sat on this year’s award panels
The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
Pete Harrison
Gweneth Ann Rand
composer
soprano
Cathy Heller Jones Director of Music, Musarc
Stephen McNeff
Alison Rayner
composer
composer and bassist
Richard Henry
Lisa Meyer
Kate Romano
bass trombonist
Gavin Higgins composer
Fenella Humphreys violinist
Julian Joseph OBE pianist, composer and broadcaster
CEO/Artistic Director Capsule
Alcyona Mick jazz composer and pianist
Lucy Schaufer
Haroon Mirza
performer and Artistic Director, Wild Plum Arts
artist
Madeleine Mitchell
Deborah Keyser
violinist and Director, London Chamber Ensemble
Director, Tŷ Cerdd – Music Centre Wales
Martel Ollerenshaw
Dominique Le Gendre composer
Anne Lovett pianist and composer
Fiona Maddocks Observer Classical Music Critic
Carol Main MBE Director, Live Music Now Scotland
Christian Mason
CEO Stapleford Granary, Artistic Director Goldfield Productions
Director, Arts & Parts
John Slack clarinetist, Berkeley Ensemble
Stan Sulzmann saxophonist and composer
Gabriella Teychenné conductor
Pelin Opcin Director of Programming, Serious
Igor Toronyi-Lalic
Ruby Philogene-Doran MBE
Artistic Director, London Contemporary Music Festival
mezzo-soprano and Professor of Voice, GSMD
Cleveland Watkiss MBE vocalist and composer
Anna Picard
Roger Wright CBE
writer
Lynne Plowman composer
CEO, Britten Pears Arts
Raymond Yiu composer
composer
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The Judges
Awards Panels
Colin Matthews OBE
freelance conductor
The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
The Ivors Academy wishes to thank
Kate Molleson and Tom Service Edward Blakeman, Andy King, Tony Sellors and Chrissie Maclean at BBC Radio 3 Mike Wilson and Meltcharm Products Ltd for our exquisite statuettes Members of The Ivors Composer Awards Committee The composers and practitioners who sat on this year’s judging panels Sarah Nicolls, our Independent Adjudicator Joanne Viner for the programme production Tim Rutherford Johnson and Dominic Lutyens for our programme articles Jens Wolter for the 2020 creative Everyone who advertised in the official awards programme Simon Mortimer and Rebecca Johns at Premier PR
At The Ivors Academy Director of Awards, Fran Matthews Awards Manager, Cindy Truong Awards Administrator, Tilly Flynn Director of Membership, Marketing & Communications, Mark Taylor Marketing and Communications Manager, Anna Brown
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The Ivors Academy thanks
Acknowledgements
PRS for Music BBC Radio 3
The Ivors Composer Awards 2020
The Ivors Academy of Music Creators
Chief Executive Graham Davies The Ivors Composer Awards Committee Fini Bearman, Gary Carpenter (Chair), Shiva Feshareki, Yumi Hara Cawkwell, Stephen McNeff, Ed Puddick, Orphy Robinson MBE, William Sweeney, Dobrinka Tabakova, Harriet Wybor
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The Ivors Academy of Music Creators The Ministry, 79 Borough Road, London SE1 1DN contact@ivorsacademy.com ivorsacademy.com @IvorsAcademy
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The Ivors Academy
The Ivors Academy
The Ivors Academy Board Mark Ayres, Gary Carpenter, Tom Gray, Crispin Hunt (Chair), Jin Jin, Daniel Kidane, Helienne Lindvall, Emma McClarkin, Julia Montero, Orphy Robinson MBE, Emily Saunders, William Sweeney, Marc Sylvan, Jo Thomas, Martyn Ware, Hope Winter (shared role), Imogen Williams (shared role)