British Composer Awards

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20171210~British Composer Awards 2017

Sara Mohr-Pietsch and Andrew McGregor report from the awards ceremony held last Wednesday at the British Museum. Celebrating the art of composition and showcasing the creative talent of contemporary composers and sound artists, the British Composer Awards are presented by BASCA and sponsored by PRS for Music; in association with BBC Radio 3. With thirty composers nominated for the British Composer Awards, spanning 33 works across 11 categories, from a community project exploring the refugee crisis and featuring Donald Trump quotes, to a work examining societal perceptions of women through the metaphor of birds, to a composition calling on humankind to re-programme its attitude towards the natural world by giving nature a musical voice, the 2017 nominations underline the many ways in which contemporary composers are using music to engage in current affairs.

2017 British Composer Awards Nominations:

Amateur or Young Performers

The Feast That Went Off With A Bang by Ed Hughes

The Hogboon by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies

Who We Are by Kerry Andrew

Chamber Ensemble

Khadambi's House by Cevanne Horrocks-Hopayian

Skin by Rebecca Saunders

The wreck of former boundaries by Aaron Cassidy

Choral

Affix Stamp Here by Leo Chadburn

Proclamation of the Republic by Andrew Hamilton

The Temptations of Christ by Barnaby Martin

Community or Educational Project

Anything but Bland by Brian Irvine

BIRDS and other Stories by Emily Peasgood

Crossing Over by Emily Peasgood

Contemporary Jazz Composition

Loop Concerto for jazz trio & large ensemble by Benjamin Oliver

Muted Lines by Cevanne Horrocks-Hopayian

You Are My World by Robert Mitchell

Orchestral

Forest by Tansy Davies

Torus (Concerto for Orchestra) by Emily Howard

Two Eardley Pictures by Helen Grime

Small Chamber

In Feyre Foreste by Robin Haigh

Omloop Het Ives by Laurence Crane

Tuvan Songbook by Christian Mason

Solo or Duo

Inside Colour by Deborah Pritchard

Merula Perpetua by Sally Beamish

Piano Sonata No. 2 by Stuart MacRae

Sonic Art

cloud-cuckoo-island by Hanna Tuulikki

Luminous Birds by Kathy Hinde

Untitled Valley of Fear by Sam Salem

Stage Works

4.48 Psychosis by Philip Venables

Empty Hand, Peaceful Mind by Ben Gaunt

The Tempest by Sally Beamish

Wind Band or Brass Band

Anemoi by Joseph Davies

Four ɀtudes by Edward Gregson

In Ictu Oculi by Kenneth Hesketh.

~British Composer Awards 2017 presented by Sara Mohr-Pietsch and Andrew McGregor.

0120071008BBC Radio 3 Listeners' Award

With Catherine Bott. Listeners choose which piece should win the BBC Radio 3 Listeners' Award in the 2007 British Composer Awards, organised with the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters. The 12 entries will be broadcoast over the next fortnight on Radio 3, all of them BBC commissions that had their premieres last year. To vote, call 08700 100 300 [rates apply] or vote online at www.bbc.co.uk/radio3.

Julian Anderson: Heaven Is Shy of Earth

Angelika Kirchschlager (mezzo)

BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus

Andrew Davis (conductor).

Featuring Julian Anderson's Heaven Is Shy of Earth, with mezzo Angelika Kirchschlager.

Awards scheme designed to celebrate the work of contemporary classical composers in the UK

0220071009BBC Radio 3 Listeners' Award

With Catherine Bott. Listeners choose which piece should win the BBC Radio 3 Listeners' Award in the 2007 British Composer Awards, organised with the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters. The 12 entries will be broadcast by Radio 3 over two weeks, all of them BBC commissions that had their premieres last year. To vote, call 08700 100 300 [rates apply] or vote online at www.bbc.co.uk/radio3.

Edward Cowie: National Portraits (excerpt)

BBC Singers

Nicholas Kok (conductor)

Huw Watkins: Partita for Solo Violin

Alina Ibragimova (violin).

Featuring Edward Cowie's National Portraits and Huw Watkins's Partita for Solo Violin.

Awards scheme designed to celebrate the work of contemporary classical composers in the UK

0320071010BBC Radio 3 Listeners' Award

3/8. With Catherine Bott. Listeners choose which piece should win the BBC Radio 3 Listeners' Award in the 2007 British Composer Awards, organised with the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters. The 12 entries will be broadcast over the next fortnight on Radio 3, all of them BBC commissions that had their premieres last year. To vote, call 08700 100 300 [rates apply] or vote online at www.bbc.co.uk/radio3.

Param Vir: Between Earth and Sky

BBC Symphony Orchestra

Alexander Rumpf (conductor).

Featuring Param Vir's Between Earth and Sky, conducted by Alexander Rumpf.

Awards scheme designed to celebrate the work of contemporary classical composers in the UK

0420071011BBC Radio 3 Listeners' Award

4/8. With Catherine Bott. Listeners choose which piece should win the BBC Radio 3 Listeners' Award in the 2007 British Composer Awards, organised with the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters. The 12 entries will be broadcast over the next fortnight on Radio 3, all of them BBC commissions that had their premieres last year. To vote, call 08700 100 300 [rates apply] or vote online at www.bbc.co.uk/radio3.

Jonathan Harvey: Body Mandala

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Ilan Volkov (conductor)

Brian Ferneyhough: Fifth String Quartet

Arditti Quartet.

Featuring Jonathan Harvey's Body Mandala and Brian Ferneyhough's Fifth String Quartet.

Awards scheme designed to celebrate the work of contemporary classical composers in the UK

0520071015BBC Radio 3 Listeners' Award

5/8. With Catherine Bott. Listeners choose which piece should win the BBC Radio 3 Listeners' Award in the 2007 British Composer Awards, organised with the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters. The 12 entries will be broadcoast over the next fortnight on Radio 3, all of them BBC commissions that had their premieres last year. To vote, call 08700 100 300 [rates apply] or vote online at www.bbc.co.uk/radio3.

Michael Nyman: A Handshake in the Dark

BBC Symphony Chorus and Orchestra

John Storgaards (conductor).

Michael Nyman's A Handshake in the Dark, with the BBC SO and Chorus led by John Storgaards

Awards scheme designed to celebrate the work of contemporary classical composers in the UK

0720071017BBC Radio 3 Listeners' Award

7/8. With Catherine Bott. Listeners choose which piece should win the BBC Radio 3 Listeners' Award in the 2007 British Composer Awards, organised with the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters. The 12 entries will be broadcoast over the next fortnight on Radio 3, all of them BBC commissions that had their premieres last year. To vote, call 08700 100 300 [rates apply] or vote online at www.bbc.co.uk/radio3.

Guto Puw: Oboe Concerto

David Cowley (oboe)

BBC National Orchestra of Wales

Garry Walker (conductor).

Guto Puw's Oboe Concerto, with David Cowley on oboe. Garry Walker conducts the BBC NOW.

Awards scheme designed to celebrate the work of contemporary classical composers in the UK

0820071018BBC Radio 3 Listeners' Award

8/8. With Catherine Bott. Listeners choose which piece should win the BBC Radio 3 Listeners' Award in the 2007 British Composer Awards, organised with the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters. The 12 entries will be broadcoast over the next fortnight on Radio 3, all of them BBC commissions that had their premieres last year. To vote, call 08700 100 300 [rates apply] or vote online at www.bbc.co.uk/radio3.

Django Bates: Alison in Space

Alison Balsom (trumpet)

Colin Currie (percussion)

Django Bates (keyboard)

Judith Bingham: An Ancient Music

Simon Paisley Day (narrator)

BBC Singers

Endymion

Andrew Carwood (conductor).

Django Bates's Alison in Space and Judith Bingham's An Ancient Music are showcased.

Awards scheme designed to celebrate the work of contemporary classical composers in the UK