Winners will be revealed at The Ivors Classical Awards on 12 November at BFI Southbank in London
#TheIvorsClassicalAwards
Julian Anderson | George Benjamin | Richard Blackford | Amy Bryce | Leo Chadburn | Hannah Conway | Brett Dean | Jonathan Dove | Lawrence Dunn | Rufus Isabel Elliot | Bushra El-Turk Edward Gregson | Matthew Grouse | Matthew Herbert | Gavin Higgins | Lisa Illean | Brian Irvine | Dan Jones | Hannah Kendall | Ryan Latimer | Una Lee | Oliver Leith | Soosan Lolavar | Duncan MacLeod | Joanna Marsh | Christian Mason | Colin Matthews | Cassandra Miller | Laurence Osborn | Hilda Paredes | Rebecca Saunders | Jane Stanley | Benjamin Tassie | Hanna Tuulikki | Philip Venables | Rūta Vitkauskaitė
The Ivors Academy have today [15 October] announced the 36 composers who have been nominated for an Ivor Novello Award at The Ivors Classical Awards 2024, celebrating the best new classical music and sound art. Presented by The Ivors Academy, the ceremony will take place on Tuesday 12 November at BFI Southbank in London, where 11 Ivor Novello Awards will be presented to eight category winners and three Gift of the Academy award winners. BBC Radio 3 will broadcast the ceremony on Saturday 16 November in a special edition of the New Music Show and the episode will also be available on BBC Sounds. The Ivors Classical Awards are supported by PRS for Music.
New for 2024, Presto Music has become the exclusive streaming partner for The Ivors Classical Awards and Dorico will sponsor the Best Orchestral Composition award. The Musicians’ Union returns as the sponsor of the Innovation award, while ABRSM will sponsor the Best Community and Participation Composition award.
The eight categories are judged anonymously, with all identifying information removed from all entered materials seen by the judges. A jury of 42 composer judges from The Ivors Academy considered over 360 works entered for this year’s Awards, resulting in 39 nominated works in the shortlist.
The 2024 shortlist features 10 first-time nominees which are Amy Bryce, Benjamin Tassie, Cassandra Miller, Jane Stanley, Lawrence Dunn, Lisa Illean, Rufus Isabel Elliot, Rūta Vitkauskaitė, Ryan Latimer and Soosan Lolavar, as well as composers who have previously been nominated or won an Ivor Novello Award or British Composer Award. Amongst previous winners, the shortlist also features works by Sir George Benjamin (recipient of the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Works Collection in 2022), Jonathan Dove (recipient of The Ivors Classical Music Award in 2008) and Matthew Herbert (recipient of the Ivor Novello Award for Innovation in 2023). Julian Anderson, Cassandra Miller and Laurence Osborn have all been nominated twice.
Tom Gray, Chair of The Ivors Academy said “The Ivors Classical Awards 2024 nominees showcase the extraordinary diversity and vibrancy of contemporary classical music and sound art. The nominated works not only exemplify artistic excellence, they also address a broad range of themes, from exploring our relationship with nature and addressing social issues to celebrating identity and resilience. Congratulations to all the nominees for their incredible contributions to our culture.”
Roberto Neri, CEO of The Ivors Academy said “On behalf of The Ivors Academy and our community of songwriters and composers, I extend my warmest congratulations to all our nominees and deepest gratitude to our members who diligently judged this year’s submissions. An Ivor Novello Award is one of the most prestigious honours in music, made all the more special by peer recognition. We look forward to celebrating the highest achievements in composing for classical music and sound art at an inspiring ceremony on 12th November.”
Andrea Czapary Martin, CEO, PRS for Music, said: “Congratulations to all the composers and sound artists nominated for an Ivor Novello Award. Contemporary classical compositions are the manifestation of the composers’ incredible skills and dedication, the nominations not only recognise the importance of human expression but the brilliance of those breathing life into this tradition. It’s also inspiring to see that 29 out of the 36 nominees are PRS members, including seven composers nominated for the first time. We look forward to celebrating your creativity alongside your peers in November.”
Sam Jackson, BBC Radio 3 Controller said: “Championing contemporary music is at the heart of BBC Radio 3, and we are proud that the BBC remains the biggest commissioner of new works. As broadcast partner of The Ivors Classical Awards once more, it’s a privilege to support the creative endeavours of some of the most exciting talent in classical music and sound art. Congratulations to all the nominees – and we look forward to sharing this celebration of the UK’s vibrant music scene on Radio 3’s New Music Show on 16th November.”
The nominated works reflect a variety of important and topical themes. Julian Anderson’s ECHOES – commissioned for Classical Pride – and Philip Venables’ music theatre piece The Faggots and their Friends Between Revolutions both focus on sexuality and queer communities, whilst Joanna Marsh’s Batter My Heart, Oliver Leith’s Hallelujah amen and Cassandra Miller’s The City, Full of People focus on religion and spirituality.
Some of the nominated works use music as a form of activism and to raise awareness of important topics, including Hannah Conway’s FLY/WORK/GROW which highlights the devastating impact of temporary accommodation and homelessness has on child health and development.
Nature and climate change is a regular theme within contemporary classical music and sound art, and this year’s nominated works continue to highlight our relationship with our planet, nature and the changes we are facing as humans. Nominated works with this theme include Christian Mason’s environmental cantata The Singing Tree, Gavin Higgins’ Horn Concerto – which celebrates his relationship with forests and love of woodlands – and Tiding II (silentium) by Lisa Illean which focusses on the ocean. Other works inspired by the ocean and water are Benjamin Tassie’s A Ladder is Not the Only Kind of Time, Dan Jones’s Each Tiny Drop and Duncan MacLeod’s Orasaigh.Although the Awards celebrate music by British, Irish or UK resident composers, the themes explored in the music are truly international. Richard Blackford’s Songs of Nadia Anjuman is a setting of five poets by Afghan poet Nadia Anjuman, Cassandra Miller’s I cannot love without trembling includes quotations by French philosopher Simone Weil and Rūta Vitkauskaitė’s BYOYOMI is dedicated to the Hiroshima tragedy which happened nearly 80 years ago. Una Lee’s po(e)sies reincarnates the Korean ancient mystic poetry form ‘Hyangga’ and Bushra El-Turk’s opera Woman at Point Zero is based on the 1975 novel of the same name by the Egyptian feminist and activist Nawal El Saadawi.
The breadth of music celebrated at The Ivors Classical Awards also reiterates the importance of commissioning new works. This year’s nominated works have been commissioned by a range of organisations and ensembles across the UK and internationally, including Britten Sinfonia, Wigmore Hall, Kings Place, Parabola Foundation, BBC Radio 3, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Opera Holland Park, Factory International and many more.
The Ivors Classical Awards celebrates the best new classical music and sound art by British, Irish or UK resident composers. Previously known as The Ivors Composer Awards, they were originally established in 2003 as the British Composer Awards and became The Ivors Classical Awards in 2023.