20 years of The Ivors Composer Awards

Lynne Plowman’s feminist take on an Arthurian legend, her family-friendly opera Gwyneth and the Green Knight; Popcorn Superhet Receiver, a work for string orchestra by Jonny Greenwood inspired by memories of the four cassettes his family listened to on car journeys; Philip Grange’s collection of pieces for symphonic wind band Cloud Atlas; five song settings of Philip Larkin poems by Huw Watkins; Cecilia McDowall’s Night Flight for SATB choir and cello; an installation for 300 speakers, pianola and vacuum cleaner; jazz saxophonist Jason Yarde’s Rhythm and Other Fascinations, for piano trio and the BBC Concert Orchestra; Anything but Bland, Brian Irvine’s community piece for orchestra, all female chorus, soloists, video projection and narrator commissioned by the Northern Ireland Science Festival… these are just a few of the many compositions that have been recognised by The Ivors Academy, formerly the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters, in the 20-year history of its annual awards

The Ivors Composer Awards were established as the British Composer Awards in 2003, to complement the Ivor Novello Awards for British and Irish songwriting and screen composition, which had existed since 1956. The aim was to promote the art of composition and bring the music of composers and sound artists to a wider audience. Rebranded in 2019 and reflecting the Ivors Academy’s inclusive new positioning and identity as well as its aim to represent music creators across the UK in all genres and at all stages of their careers, the newer awards are sponsored by PRS for Music. This year’s presentation ceremony took place in the British Museum, London, on 15 November, as part of a new Ivors Composer Week to mark the anniversary. It was presented in association with BBC Radio 3, which will broadcast the event on Saturday (19 November).

Categories embrace a hugely varied spectrum of genres and have been refined over their 20-year history; ‘vocal’ has been subsumed into ‘solo or duo’, the liturgical category has disappeared; and the jazz ensemble category now has large and small ensemble awards. Shortlists are currently announced in advance for nine categories, with the winners chosen by juries of composers and music producers.

In addition, three ‘Gift of the Academy’ awards are made. The Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Works Collection celebrates an exceptional classical composer whose music demonstrates the highest degree of skill, impact, and originality. An Academy Fellowship is presented in recognition of excellence and impact in the art and craft of music creation. And the Ivor Novello Award for Innovation, supported by the Musicians’ Union, acknowledges a composer and musician whose creative practice inspires and influences successive generations.

Since it was introduced in 2016 the Innovation Award has demonstrated the scope and eclecticism of the Academy’s support for new music. The first winner was the Irish composer Jennifer Walshe, whose back catalogue embraces feminist opera with Barbie dolls; gallery-based sculptural, video and performance art, both in her own name and involving an elaborate roster of alter egos; and, to quote the citation ‘exquisite, high-wire chamber music’. Composer, researcher and turntablist Shiva Feshareki was recognised in 2017 for works such as O, a sculptural acoustic composition where the music moves around the orchestra as if it was a spinning vinyl record, with the sound travelling in circular movements, clockwise and anti-clockwise. The 2018 winner was the electro-acoustic musician Trevor Wishart, followed in successive years by Anna Meredith, Yazz Ahmed and Cleveland Watkiss.

This year the Innovation Award goes to the virtuoso tabla player and percussionist Talvin Singh (pictured below). A leading figure in the early 90s fusion of electronic music and the Indian classical tradition, he grew up in Leytonstone, East London, where his formal musical education was limited to learning snare drum and military percussion at school; he attributes his wide musical knowledge to listening to recordings produced by the ECM label. ‘ECM was my school!’ he says. But at the age of 16 he moved to India to immerse himself in Indian classical music, studying tabla with the multi-instrumentalist Professor Ustad Lachhman Singh Seen.

© Mark Allan Photography

Returning to England, Singh founded Anokha, the influential East London club night where drum ‘n’ bass DJs and Asian punk bands went head-to-head with the amped-up sounds of his tabla and percussion. He went on to collaborate with performers from a wide range of genres, including Siouxie and the Banshees, Björk, Neneh Cherry, sitar player Niladri Kumar, and the big band Jazz Warriors, and in 2009 won the Mercury Prize for his debut album OK. More recently, he has been performing with the jazz pianist Tom Rogerson; the pair have done several concerts together and are currently in search of the ideal producer to work with them on a recording.

As a composer, Singh has been commissioned by English National Opera and has worked on experimental theatre, dance and film projects. The Ivors’ citation describes him as ‘a major creative and cultural influence, who has taken the tabla to the cutting edge with the most unimaginable sonic creations – sounds which aren’t contrived or forced, but instead fluid and organic’. He is pleased to be honoured by the Ivors Academy alongside composers from so many different genres. However, he points out that his own identity is rooted in performance, and includes sound design and music production. ‘I see composition as all of those things,’ he says. ‘I’m not a composer who would have an idea, sit down and, without recording it first, write it on paper.’

Over the past seven years Singh has also been exploring the possibilities offered by sophisticated audio file technology, setting up his own studios both in Suffolk, England, and in India where he can record with other virtuosos. ‘I know I have the ability to inspire musicians to play because I’ve done sessions back in the day with so many other people and I know how they have got the best out of me, so I can take that role.’

Early in his career Singh found that promoters of Indian classical music were reluctant to accept him because of the western influences in his music. Now it’s almost the other way round. ‘If you try to play an Indian classical concert and get paid in India, you will struggle, because everybody expects you to play heavy amplified fusion. If you want to play acoustic classical, it has almost gone back to the temple and will probably become even more pure.

‘For me it’s an interesting journey, because obviously the contemporary side is something I do quite naturally, but I also like playing straight classical music. I’m constantly trying to expand my musical palette.’

The full list of 2022 Ivors Composer Awards winners and shortlisted composers can be found here.