Winners announced for Ivors Composer Awards 2022

The Ivors Academy has revealed the winners of the 20^th edition of The Ivors Composer Awards. Held at London’s British Museum and hosted by BBC Radio 3 broadcasters Hannah Peel and Tom Service, last night’s awards ceremony (15 November) saw winners announced in each of the 12 categories, celebrating new music in the genres of classical, jazz and beyond.

In recognition of the awards’ 20^th anniversary, The Ivors Academy has launched its first Ivors Composer Week which aims to connect composers with the music industry. The week’s events seek to celebrate the work of composers as well as highlighting issues in the sector.

Alan Davey, BBC Radio 3 controller, said: ‘Tonight marked 20 years of celebrating and supporting some of the UK’s most innovative composers. We are grateful to The Ivors for putting a spotlight on these talents, as encouraging creative exploration and pushing boundaries is vital for the future of the music industry. It is the only way to keep music alive and thriving and to attract new audiences who have a sense of exploration and adventure.’

The recipients of this year’s awards are included below:

• Chamber Ensemble - Madame Ma Bonne Sœur composed by Brett Dean for mezzo-soprano and string quartet
• Choral - All Shall Be Well composed by Joanna Marsh for unaccompanied choir
• Community And Participation (in association with ABRSM) - When A Child Is A Witness – Requiem For Refugees composed by Liz Dilnot Johnson for choir, children's choir, mezzo soprano solo, organ, piano, violin/Hardanger fiddle and refugee groups
• Jazz Ensemble - Birds Of Paradise composed by Tori Freestone for jazz trio (flute/triangle, vocals and piano)
• Large Ensemble - Scenes From The Wild composed by Cheryl Frances-Hoad (pictured above) for tenor and chamber orchestra
• Orchestral – To An Utterance composed by Rebecca Saunders for piano and orchestra
• Small Chamber - Natural World composed by Laurence Crane for soprano and piano / sampler keyboard
• Sound Art - The Sound Voice Project: Paul, I Left My Voice Behind And Tanja by Hannah Conway, a performance installation exploring stories of voice loss and identity.
• Stage Works - Dante composed by Thomas Adès, a ballet in three parts, for orchestra with pre-recorded voices and female choir

Special awards were also given, with the prize for Outstanding Works Collection (in association with the Music Publishers Association) given to English contemporary classical composer Sir George Benjamin. Master of the King’s music, Judith Weir was awarded the Academy Fellowship and tabla player and percussionist Talvin Singh received the Innovation Award.

This year’s winning works have been premiered to UK audiences in recordings, live streams, concerts and a range of other media between April 2021 and March 2022. The nine nominated categories were judged by a jury of 48 composers and creators, while special awards were decided by The Ivors Academy Awards Committee, a sub-committee of The Ivors Academy Board.

The Ivors Composer Awards are supported by PRS for Music. PRS Members’ Council president, Michelle Escoffery, said: ‘It was an honour to celebrate the 20th edition of The Ivors Composer Awards – the energy in the room was celebratory and positive. Congratulations to all of this year’s winners including the seven phenomenal composers taking home an Ivor Novello Award for the very first time.’