The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

2021

The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

British Museum Great Russell Street London Wednesday 8 th December 2021 Hosted by Sara Mohr-Pietsch and Tom Service #TheIvorsComposerAwards @IvorsAcademy

The Ivors Composer Awards is the UK’s foremost celebration of creative excellence in contemporary classical and jazz composition and sound arts.

The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

Event

6.15pm Arrivals

6.45pm Awards Ceremony

Event

Event

guests are asked to immediately take their seats for the awards ceremony

Lecture Theatre

Jazz Composition Solo Composition Impact Award Sound Art Outstanding Works Collection Small Chamber Composition Vocal or Choral Composition Innovation Award Large Scale Composition Visionary Award 8.15pm Drinks and Bowl Food East Foyer

10.15pm Guest Departures

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Congratulations to Cheryl Frances-Hoad and Anna Thorvaldsdottir on their nominations at The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OUR WINNERS AND NOMINEES FROM THE IVORS ACADEMY

The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

Contents Welcomes 07

The Ivors Academy

09

PRS for Music

11

BBC Radio 3

18

Jazz Composition

20

Solo Composition

24

Sound Art

28

Small Chamber Composition

30

Vocal or Choral Composition

34

Large Scale Composition

Contents

Contents

The Nominations

Special Awards 22

Impact Award

26

Outstanding Works Collection

32

Innovation Award

36

Visionary Award

12

An Ivor Novello Award

14

The Judges

05

WE ARE

RAISE YOUR VOICE CAMPAIGN FOR CHANGE GROW YOUR CAREER Join us ivorsacademy.com/membership

The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

The Ivors Academy Welcome

Our nominees and winners are testament to the strength and resourcefulness of the composing community. Each nominated work was premiered during the pandemic, either through performance or recording, and this most difficult of times has reminded us why new music and sound composition matter so much.

The Ivors Academy

Welcome

Welcome to The Ivors Composer Awards 2021. We are delighted to be back at The British Museum, celebrating the most incredible and innovative composition in contemporary classical, jazz and sound arts.

On behalf of Academy members, all composers and songwriters, we would like to congratulate all of the nominees and winners on their achievements. Each winner will receive a hand-crafted Ivor Novello Award in recognition of exceptional composing.

Over their 19 years The Ivors Composer Awards have honoured a diverse range of established and emerging talent, and this year is no different as 40% of the composers in the running for an Ivor Novello Award are first-time nominees.

Tonight, we are also delighted to honour Zoe Rahman, Cleveland Watkiss, Alexander Goehr and Sarah Angliss.

Crispin Hunt Chair

Our thanks and gratitude go to our hard-working judges, and our awards committee expertly Chaired by Academy Fellow Julian Joseph.

Thank you to our sponsor PRS for Music and our broadcast partner BBC Radio 3 for your support and everything you do to showcase, champion and nurture our talented composers. Do listen to The Ivors Composer Awards special on BBC Radio 3’s New Music Show at 10pm on 11 December.

We’re so glad you can be with us here tonight and we hope you have a fantastic evening.

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Graham Davies CEO

FOR MUSIC

PRS for Music proudly represents composers from the classical, jazz and sound art communities.

Congratulations to all the winners and nominees at The Ivors Composer Awards 2021.

BECAUSE MUSIC MATTERS

prsformusic.com

The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

PRS for Music Welcome

Welcome to The Ivors Composer Awards 2021.

Over recent months we have seen the gradual return of audiences to concert halls across the UK, reminding us all of the impact and importance of live music. The next year will bring further challenges, but we know the resilience and innovation of the creative communities will ensure that we can emerge from the pandemic as a stronger and more united industry.

PRS for Music

Welcome

We are honoured to have supported The Ivors Composer Awards since its inception and to once again celebrate outstanding composers from the classical, jazz, and sound art communities.

It is encouraging to see so many first-time nominees this year. We are incredibly proud that no less than 18 of the nominees have received funding from our charity partner, PRS Foundation. Two nominees also had their works performed by the esteemed Ligeti Quartet as part of our virtual concert in April.

At PRS for Music, we are committed to championing classical music creators through composer workshops, showcases, and commissioning opportunities. We also continue our vital work lobbying government on matters most important to music creators; to protect their rights and value of their work, on touring and the privilege to share their music, and on equal access to opportunity, and a fairer, just, and sustainable music industry for us all.

Andrea Czapary Martin CEO, PRS for Music

Alongside our industry partners, The Ivors Academy and others, we look to a future of community and creativity.

Thank you to all of the nominees and winners for their perseverance, passion and inimitable talent, and to The Ivors Academy for organising this spectacular celebration of their work.

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Nigel Elderton Chair, PRS Members’ Council

R ADIO 3 IN CONCERT Experience the best concerts from across the UK

LISTEN ANYTIME on the BBC Sounds app

The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

Welcome to the nineteenth edition of The Ivors Composer Award ceremony, one of the most prestigious new music awards in the world, shining a light on some of the UK’s most innovative and imaginative composers. The ceremony is proudly returning to a live format in front of an audience, after a difficult year that affected the livelihoods of so many in the music sector, and disrupted audiences’ opportunities for the enjoyment of live music.

Here at BBC Radio 3, we have tried our best to keep that connection between listeners and performers alive throughout the pandemic, using the power of broadcasting as a tool to bring the thrill of live music – presented sometimes in empty halls or with reduced audience – to as many homes as possible. Right now – as restrictions have mostly lifted – it is more important than ever to celebrate the return of live performance to stages across the country, especially when this involves new music – the future of the art form.

New music is particularly precious to Radio 3, as we pride ourselves on being a go-to place for curious listeners to discover new gems, alongside the familiar repertoire. We are therefore delighted to be once again the broadcast partner for The Ivor Composer Awards, supporting the live ceremony today and then presenting it on the station’s airwaves as part of the New Music Show on Saturday 11 December at 10pm. We are thrilled to be able to bring this wonderful celebration of new music to wider audiences at home. It is time to rejoice in the renewed opportunity of witnessing live music; it is time to give our hopeful support to the bright minds on the UK musical scene, who keep providing us with exciting and stimulating new material for our ears.

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BBC Radio 3

Welcome

BBC Radio 3 Welcome

Alan Davey Controller BBC Radio 3, BBC Proms, BBC Orchestras & Choirs

The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

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 13

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.

The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

The Judges

An Ivor Novello Award represents peer recognition.

Peter Adjaye

Libby Burgess

Caroline Devine

composer and sound artist

pianist and vocal coach

composer and sound artist

Yazz Ahmed

Richard Causton

Sam Eastmond

trumpeter, flugelhornist and composer

Professor of Composition, University of Cambridge

Kristina Arakelyan

Natalie Clein

composer, arranger, bandleader, trumpet player and producer

composer, pianist and educator

cellist

Newton Armstrong

sound artist

composer, electronics performer and reader at City, University of London

Bushra El-Turk

Sophie Cooper Jessica Cottis

composer

Evelyn Ficarra composer and sound artist

Paula Gardiner

Ed Baxter

Chief Conductor and Artistic Director, Canberra Symphony Orchestra

radio-artist and CEO, Resonance FM

Sarah Dacey

Adam Gorb

singer, composer and educator

Head of School of Composition, RNCM

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jazz bassist, composer and Head of Jazz, RWCMD

The Judges

Awards Panels

The Ivors Academy would like to thank all who sat on this year’s award panels

The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

Mark Lockheart

Ed Puddick

producer, Third Ear Music; senior lecturer, Middlesex University

saxophonist and composer

composer, arranger and band leader

Zoe Martlew

Alison Rayner

Simon Halsey choral conductor

cellist, composer, presenter and educator

Charlotte Harding

William Mival

composer, orchestrator and saxophonist

Carmen Ho composer

Dani Howard composer

Gabriel Jackson composer

Julian Joseph jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger, and broadcaster

Ray Lee sound artist, theatre maker and composer

composer, bass player, bandleader and partner in Blow the Fuse

composer, broadcaster and Head of Composition, RCM

Sasha Scott

Gareth Moorcraft

composer

composer

Lynne Plowman composer

Natalie Murray Beale conductor and music consultant for opera, concerts & film

composer and violinist

William Sweeney Dobrinka Tabakova composer

Shirley Tetteh jazz guitarist, producer, singer and songwriter

Ilan Volkov conductor

Ailís Ní Ríain composer

Orphy Robinson jazz multi-instrumentalist

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The Judges

Awards Panels

Julia Haferkorn

LET’S KEEP MAKING MUSIC It’s a tough time for many of our talented composers.

They need your support.

You can make a difference by donating to The Ivors Academy Trust.

With your help we can provide mentoring, creative development and financial support to nurture the next generation of Ivors winners.

Donate today ivorsacademy.com/trust The Ivors Academy Trust is the charitable arm of The Ivors Academy.

Registered charity 1080325.

The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

Jazz Composition The Nominees

BYE Alex Paxton

for small jazz ensemble and improviser, 10 minutes

Awards

Performed by Guildhall Jazz Orchestra directed by Scott Stroman in Milton Court Concert Hall, London and streamed on the Guildhall School of Music and Drama website on 5 th November 2020

Corncrack Dreams Alex Paxton

for trombone, keyboard and drums, 2 minutes Commissioned by Nevis Ensemble and North Uist Distillery and performed by Alex Paxton and Dominykas Snarskis on the Nonclassical album I hope this finds you well in these strange times – Vol. 3 released on 5 th February 2021

Dreams Brigitte Beraha and Dave Manington for jazz sextet, 9 minutes

Performed by Solstice on their album Food for Thought released by Ubuntu Music on 26 th February 2021

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The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

The Caged Bird Nikki Iles for jazz band, 9 minutes

The Rise of the Lizard People Ivo Neame for jazz orchestra, 6 minutes

Performed by Guildhall Jazz Orchestra directed by Scott Stroman in Milton Court Concert Hall, London and streamed on the Guildhall School of Music and Drama website on 16 th March 2021

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Jazz Composition

Commissioned by The International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers, performed by Royal Academy Big Band in Duke’s Hall, London and streamed on the Royal Academy of Music YouTube channel on 12 th November 2020

The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

Solo Composition The Nominees

‘echo the angelus’ James Dillon for piano, 26 minutes

Awards

Performed by Noriko Kawai in BBC Radio Theatre, London as part of the Huddersfield Festival of Contemporary Music and broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 3 rd November 2020

Fading Spellsphere Ben Gaunt for piano, 4 minutes

Performed by Ben Powell and streamed on Psappha’s YouTube Channel on 20 th July 2020

Lampades Martin Iddon

for tuba and fixed media, 30 minutes Commissioned and performed by Jack Adler-McKean and streamed on Unerhörte Musik’s YouTube Channel on 3 rd November 2020

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The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

Linear Construction (No. 5) Alex Groves Performed by Gabriella Swallow on the Nonclassical album I hope this finds you well in these strange times – Vol. 1 released on 3 rd July 2020

No One Robin Haigh for harp, 10 minutes

Commissioned by Presteigne Festival and Royal Philharmonic Society, performed by Oliver Wass in St Mary’s Church, Hertingfordbury and streamed for Presteigne Digital on 26 th August 2020

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Solo Composition

Sam Le Roux

for cello, 4 minutes

Tom Hurley Ilze Kitshoff

The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

Impact Award Zoe Rahman

After studying classical piano at the Royal Academy of Music, taking a music degree at Oxford and studying jazz performance at Boston’s Berklee College, her unique style took the UK by storm as the century turned (she was the Young Jazz Musician Of The Year in 1999), as she has gone on to become one of the most prominent and brilliant artists of her generation.

Throughout her career, she has pulled in influences from across classical and jazz as well as from her English, Irish and Bengali heritage. Praised in the Ivors Academy awards citation as “subtle and startling and always sophisticated”, her career has taken jazz to places that other jazz artists couldn’t reach.

An astounding pianist and composer and brilliant performer, she picked up a MOBO Award in 2012 for her fifth album, Kindred Spirits, and her second record, Melting Pot, joined the likes of Arctic Monkeys and Muse on the 2006 Mercury Prize list, as well as winning the Parliamentary Jazz Awards’ gong for Jazz Album Of The Year.

Few prizes have been well-named as this Impact Award, however, because Rahman is always guaranteed to make an impression. That’s why she’s appeared at countless international festivals, awards ceremonies and TV shows, while her recording career has seen her collaborate with everyone from Courtney Pine to her own supremely talented sibling Idris Rahman.

And all the while she has campaigned for greater female representation in instrumental jazz, something the new generation are undoubtedly reaping the benefits of. But wherever the next wave may take us, Zoe Rahman deserves immense credit for blazing the trail.

MARK SUTHERLAND

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Impact Award

Awards

The current UK jazz scene may be world-renowned, but the resurgence of the genre on these shores is in no small part due to Zoe Rahman.

The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

Sound Art The Nominees

Dimitri Djuric

for piano, voice and electronics with field recordings and interviews with artist Andrew Clwyd, neighbour Ceinwyn Paynton and Haitian vodou dancer Zsuzsa Parrag, 38 minutes Commissioned by Radiophrenia and Supernormal Festival and broadcast on Radiophrenia on 22 nd November 2020

London 26 and 28 March 2020: Imitation: Inversion Caroline Kraabel Giuseppe Tamponi

Awards

Fire Prevention or How To Sing A Labyrinth or The Rebeing And The Burning Of The Labyrinth Nwando Ebizie

for baritone, alto and sopranino saxophones, double bass and film, 39 minutes Performed by Caroline Kraabel and John Edwards and streamed

by Café Oto, London on 25 th February 2021

Nocturnal Insights Nikki Sheth

field recordings of crepuscular and nocturnal wildlife in the UK, 6 minutes Commissioned by Land Lines Project and streamed on the Land Lines Project website on 17 th November 2020

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The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

The Cuckmere Soundwalk Ed Hughes Performed by Orchestra of Sound and Light conducted by Ed Hughes and released as a sound walk on Echoes Interactive Walks app on 9 th September 2020 Sound Art

Katie Vandyck

for chamber orchestra, 30 minutes

Hydar Dewachi

Waves Of Resistance (Radio Art Without Borders) Tonnta Friotaíochta (Ealaíne Raidió Gan Teorainneacha) Magz Hall radiophonic poem read by Máiréad Ní Chróinín and Alexandra Jueno, WASP synth and location recordings, 11 minutes Commissioned for the Aerial/Sparks project curated by Louise Manifold for Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture funded by the Irish Arts Council and Irish Marine Institute. Broadcast on Radiophrenia on 11 th November 2020

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Tom Hurley

The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

Outstanding Works Collection Alexander Goehr

They say cats have nine lives, but what about composers?

Born in Berlin, his family moved to England when Goehr was an infant. Surrounded by music as a child – his father, Walter, was a noted conductor – his own journey began when he studied at the Royal Manchester College Of Music. That’s where he met Harrison Birtwistle, Peter Maxwell Davies, Elgar Howarth and John Ogdon and formed the New Music Manchester Group.

That group helped reshape the landscape for British music and fuelled Goehr’s lifelong desire for innovation. That has followed him wherever he’s gone – be it in his work for the BBC, his studies in Paris under Oliver Messiaen (where he became involved in the serialist movement) or his numerous pioneering musical works.

The Academy’s citation for Goehr’s award praises his “decades of consistently highquality compositions” and his catalogue speaks for itself. He has produced four symphonies, five operas and a huge collection of inspiring chamber music.

Landmark moments pepper his seven decades of work, from his composition of a white-note setting of Psalm IV to his hugely popular high-concept opera Arianna. But, while his work is always progressive and never shirks a challenge, musical or political, his melodic sensibility and clarity of purpose mean it always remains accessible. Not for nothing did he once declare he would regard it as “a personal defeat if people can’t follow my pieces”.

His unrivalled range has also seen him teach everywhere from China to Cambridge University (where he educated multiple generations of British composers), become an honorary member of the American Academy Of Arts And Letters and give the BBC’s Reith Lecture.

But, ultimately, it’s Alexander Goehr’s remarkable music that will convince you that his is a wonderful life, whichever one you choose.

MARK SUTHERLAND 27

Outstanding Works Collection

Awards

Certainly, as Alexander Goehr celebrates this richly deserved award, it’s clear that he has embraced enough styles, approaches and roles for multiple careers, never mind just one.

The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

Small Chamber Composition The Nominees

A Field Guide to Pebbles Lynne Plowman for percussion duo, 11 minutes

Awards

Commissioned by Arts Council of Wales and performed

by O DUO on the album The Beachcomber: Music by Lynne Plowman released by Prima Facie on 11 th September 2020

Nightingales: Ultra-Deep Field Tansy Davies

Chelsey Brown

for string quartet, 17 minutes

Commissioned by Stiftung Berliner Philharmoniker, Southbank Centre London and Arditti Quartet with the support of The Ernst Von Siemens Music Foundation. Performed by Arditti Quartet and streamed on The Berliner Philharmoniker Digital Concert Hall on 11 th October 2020

Sometimes Voices Alex Paxton

for keyboard and drums, 10 minutes Commissioned and performed by Hyper Duo and streamed on Hyper Duo’s YouTube Channel on 4 th June 2020

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The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

Still Life Stephen Goss

for cello and guitar, 15 minutes

Wicked Problems Laura Bowler

Robin Clewley

for voice and bass flute with fixed tape, 9 minutes

Commissioned by Sound Festival with the support of PRSF Beyond Borders, performed by Laura Bowler and Ruth Morley and streamed on Sound Festival’s YouTube Channel on 25 th October 2020

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Small Chamber Composition

Commissioned by Patterson/Sutton Duo through the Clyfford Still Museum, USA. Performed by Patterson/Sutton duo on their album Still Life: Collected Music for Cello & Guitar by Stephen Goss released by Ravello Records on 26 th June 2020

The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

Vocal or Choral Composition The Nominees

Baruch – Ten Propositions of Baruch Spinoza for Tenor and Piano Michael Zev Gordon for tenor and piano, 21 minutes

Awards

Commissioned by Oxford Lieder Festival, performed by James Gilchrist and Anna Tilbrook in Holywell Music Room, Oxford and streamed on Oxford Lieder Festival’s online platform on 13 th October 2020

Gyökér (Root) Thomas Adès

Marco Borggreve

for mezzo-soprano and four percussionists, 4 minutes Commissioned by Oliver Zeffman and performed by Katalin Károlyi, Ricardo Gallardo and Thomas Adès on Eight Songs From Isolation, a film produced by Oliver Zeffman released on Apple Music on 25 th September 2020

Never To Forget Howard Goodall

Sarah-Jane Field

for SATB choir and small orchestra, 8 minutes Commissioned by London Symphony Chorus, performed by London Symphony Chorus, members of London Symphony Orchestra and Howard Goodall conducted by Simon Halsey CBE and streamed on London Symphony Orchestra’s YouTube channel on 5 th July 2020

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The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

Thinking I Hear Thee Call Cheryl Frances-Hoad for soprano, speaker and electronics, 5 minutes

Vidi Aquam James MacMillan

Stuart Armitt

for 40 a cappella voices, split into 8 SSATB choirs, 9 minutes Commissioned and performed by ORA Singers directed by Suzi Digby in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall, London and streamed on the Tate Modern website on 16 th September 2020

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Vocal or Choral Composition

Commissioned by Electric Voice Theatre, performed by Frances M Lynch and Margaret Cameron and streamed by Electric Voice Theatre for the Echoes From Essex - Minerva Scientifica Project on 24 th August 2020

Karina Lyburn

The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

Innovation Award Cleveland Watkiss

Because there is the road less travelled, and then there is the road that’s never been travelled before. Watkiss has spent his days hiking up and down the latter. No wonder the Ivors Academy citation for this award hails him as “a tireless and fearless explorer who always travels his own way”.

And what a journey it has been. Discovered at a local singing contest, Watkiss went on to study at the London School of Singing and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He co-founded the Jazz Warriors big band, the collective that proved instrumental in launching many stellar jazz careers.

And Watkiss himself has never stopped moving forward. Look at his crucial role in the development of jazz opera, where he starred in Julian Joseph’s twin ground-breaking works, Bridgetower and Shadowball. Or his own VocalSuite, a pioneering solo vocal performance.

Beyond his work as a performer, band leader, composer and vocalist extraordinaire across jazz, drum ‘n’ bass, reggae and beyond, he continues to help educate others, passing on the wisdom accumulated by his years of trailblazing.

Watkiss has also received his fair share of acclaim, including being voted the Wire/ Guardian Jazz Awards’ best vocalist three years in a row. And in 2018, the Queen awarded him an MBE. But it’s this Ivor for Innovation that really sums up his incredible ability to move things forward. And that’s why the world’s greatest musicians will continue to want extra time with Watkiss.

MARK SUTHERLAND 33

Innovation Award

Awards

There can’t be many musicians who have performed with both the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and The Who, with the London Community Gospel Choir and Robbie Williams, and with the Liepaja Symphony Orchestra and Goldie. Yet Cleveland Watkiss can boast all of those collaborations – and many more, including Keith Richards, Stevie Wonder, Courtney Pine, Talvin Singh and Björk – on his remarkable CV.

The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

Large Scale Composition The Nominees

CATAMORPHOSIS Anna Thorvaldsdottir for orchestra, 20 minutes

Awards

Commissioned by Stiftung Berliner Philharmoniker, New York Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Iceland Symphony Orchestra. Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Kirill Petrenko and streamed on The Berliner Philharmoniker Digital Concert Hall on 29 th January 2021

Democracy Dances Conor Mitchell

Belfast Ensemble

for symphony orchestra, 13 minutes

Commissioned by Oh Yeah Music Centre, Belfast (with the Belfast Ensemble), performed by Ulster Orchestra and streamed on Oh Yeah Music Centre’s ‘Sound of Belfast’ platform with video

by The Belfast Ensemble on 1 st January 2021

Kaamos Lara Poe

Broadway Studios

for orchestra, 11 minutes Commissioned and performed by Lahti Symphony Orchestra conducted by Dima Slobodeniouk and broadcast on YLE Radio on 8 th March 2021

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The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

Pharmakeia James Dillon for 16 players, 52 minutes

This Departing Landscape Martin Suckling for orchestra, 20 minutes

Sara Porter

Commissioned by BBC Radio 3, performed by BBC Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Ilan Volkov and broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 1st July 2020

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Large Scale Composition

Commissioned by London Sinfonietta and Ensemble Intercontemporain with support from the Ernst Von Siemens Music Foundation. Performed by London Sinfonietta conducted by Geoffrey Paterson and streamed on the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival online platform on 3rd November 2020

Agata Urbaniak

The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

Visionary Award Sarah Angliss

It was science fiction writer Arthur C Clarke who noted advanced technology was indistinguishable from magic. But Sarah Angliss’ music has always included healthy doses of both.

Awards

She was classically trained, specialising in baroque and renaissance music, but also studied electroacoustic engineering and robotics, and both sides of her education inform her art. So she performs with both humans and machines, and often blurs the lines between sound design and music.

This approach has seen her get involved in countless ground-breaking projects. While she cut her teeth playing live in folk clubs, she has also built the ‘Ealing Feeder’, a “robotic polyphonic carillon” that creates incredible, other-worldly sounds, and pioneered her own processing techniques.

Certainly, if bold ideas were hard currency, Angliss would be the richest musician on earth. Her inventive approach has seen her in huge demand for live performances and soundtrack appearances alike.

And, whether it’s her score for Eugene O’Neill’s expressionist play The Hairy Ape, her astounding electroacoustic work on the soundtrack to Romola Garai’s horror movie Amulet, or the unnerving soundscapes she crafted for the stage show of The Twilight Zone, her work and singular vision never fail to leave a lasting impression.

With one foot in the classicism of the past and the other in the technology-dominated future, Angliss never fails to live in the present, meaning her every move is followed closely by classical and avant-garde pop fans alike.

Because, whatever your stance on technology, no one would ever want to rage against Sarah Angliss’ magical machines.

MARK SUTHERLAND 37

Visionary Award

Because Angliss is no ordinary musician. The Ivors’ citation for this supremely apt award describes her as “a startling and multi-faceted creative technologist and composer” and she has long woven robotics and electronic innovation into her unique compositions.

THANK YOU

+$55,6 75277(5 //3 As our donors, supporters and partners you help provide life-changing learning and development opportunities for composers so they can keep making the music that the world loves.

Contact us to become a supporter info@ivorsacademytrust.org

The Ivors Academy Trust is the charitable arm of The Ivors Academy.

Registered charity 1080325.

The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

The Ivors Academy wishes to thank

Capitol House Productions for the video production and stage management Chris Maclean at CM Audio for the audio editing This year’s award presenters Mike Wilson and Meltcharm Products Ltd for our exquisite statuettes Jens Wolter for the graphic design Julian Joseph and members of The Ivors Composer Awards Committee All the judges on this year’s panels Sarah Nicolls, our Independent Adjudicator Kristina Ryttersgaard and team at the British Museum and Benugo Mark Allan for our official photography Rebecca Johns and team at Premier PR Joanne Viner for the programme production Principal Colour, for our printing All the staff at The Ivors Academy At The Ivors Academy Director of Awards, Fran Matthews Awards Manager, Tilly Flynn Awards Administrator, Kate Spiers

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The Ivors Academy thanks

Acknowledgements

PRS for Music, our Sponsor BBC Radio 3, our broadcast partner Sara Mohr-Pietsch and Tom Service, our hosts

The Ivors Composer Awards 2021

The Ivors Academy of Music Creators

Chief Executive Graham Davies The Ivors Composer Awards Committee Sophie Cooper, Sam Eastmond, Charlotte Harding, Claire Jarvis (PRS for Music), Julian Joseph (Chair), Lynne Plowman, Alison Rayner, Orphy Robinson, William Sweeney and Dobrinka Tabakova

The Ivors Composer Awards and Euterpe (Ivor Novello Award statuette, designed in 1955 by Hazel Underwood) are trademarks belonging to British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, trading as The Ivors Academy.

Persons wishing to reproduce or use these marks must secure the written consent of The Ivors Academy prior to use.

You are not permitted to record, photograph or film any part of The Ivors Composer Awards 2021 without a specific licence from The Ivors Academy.

Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained within this publication, The Ivors Academy cannot be liable for errors or omissions. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of The Ivors Academy

The Ministry, 79 Borough Road, London SE1 1DN awards@ivorsacademy.com www.ivorsacademy.com @IvorsAcademy

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The Ivors Academy

The Ivors Academy

The Ivors Academy Board Gary Carpenter, Crispin Hunt, Jin Jin, Daniel Kidane, Helienne Lindvall, Emma McClarkin, Julia Montero, Hannah Peel, Orphy Robinson, Tom Gray, Kevin Sargent, Emily Saunders, William Sweeney, Jo Thomas, Martyn Ware, Imogen Williams and Hope Winter