Resonate Magazine | Australian Music Centre

Works by six Australian composers - Katy Abbott, Brett Dean, Elliott Gyger, Lachlan Skipworth, Luke Styles and Nigel Westlake - have been announced as finalists for the 2019 Paul Lowin Prizes. The recipients of the Paul Lowin Orchestral Prize (valued at $25,000) and the Song Cycle Prize (valued at $15,000) will be made public in a ceremony in Melbourne on ​22 October 2019.

Close to 100 original works of music competed for these prestigious Prizes in 2019, with entries reflecting the incredibly rich spectrum of artistic expression by composers today. All finalist works can be said to represent the very best of Australian orchestral and song cycle composition over the past three years - since the awarding of the previous Lowin Prizes in 2016.

Shortlisted for the Orchestral Prize ($25,000)

• Brett Dean: Cello Concerto (2018) for cello and orchestra

• Lachlan Skipworth: Spiritus (2017) for symphony orchestra

• Nigel Westlake: Spirit of the Wild: Concerto for Oboe (2016)

Shortlisted for the Song Cycle Prize ($15,000)

• Katy Abbott: Hidden Thoughts (2017) for six voices (2 sopranos, alto, tenor, baritone, bass) and mixed instrumental sextet. Text by anonymous contributors.

• Elliott Gyger: This Kind of Life - a culinary correspondence (2018) for soprano, mezzo-soprano, clarinet, cello, harp, piano. A setting of correspondence between celebrated chef Julia Child and her friend Avis DeVoto.

• Luke Styles: On Bunyah (2018) for tenor, string quartet and piano. Settings of 10 poems by Les Murray.

The Paul Lowin Prizes are among Australia's richest prizes for music composition and a continuing testament to the power of philanthropy in fostering and encouraging new creative works of music. Nominations are accepted from the general public as well as music professionals. The Paul Lowin Prizes are managed by Perpetual as Trustee for The Paul Lowin Trust and presented in collaboration with the Australian Music Centre.

Previous recipients of the Paul Lowin Prizes include Lachlan Skipworth, Brett Dean, Nigel Westlake, Elliott Gyger, Mary Finsterer, Andrew Schultz, Rosalind Page, Nigel Butterley, Julian Yu, Georges Lentz, Brenton Broadstock, Martin Wesley-Smith, Michael Smetanin, Raffæle Marcellino, Liza Lim and Andrew Ford.

This year, the winning works and composers will be announced in conjunction with the annual Peggy Glanville-Hicks Address, delivered by Deborah Cheetham AO, at the Melbourne Recital Centre on ​22 October 2019. Tickets for the event are free but bookings via the Melbourne Recital Centre website are essential.

> Paul Lowin Prizes - previous winners and general information

> Read also: '2019 Paul Lowin Prizes & Glanville-Hicks Address, 22 October in Melbourne' - news article on Resonate (9 September 2019)