The nominations come ahead of the awards ceremony on Tuesday 12 November at the BFI Southbank in London

Britten Sinfonia and Elizabeth Watts at Milton Court (c) Bobby Williams.jpeg

Britten Sinfonia and Elizabeth Watts performing Richard Blackford’s Songs of Nadia Anjuman at Milton Court. The work has been nominated in the Chamber Ensemble category © Bobby Williams

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The Ivors Academy has announced 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.

The ceremony will take place on Tuesday 12 November BFI Southbank in London, where eleven 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 in a special edition of the New Music Show on Saturday 16 November, which will also be available on BBC Sounds.

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.

Across five of the categories, eleven works featuring strings have been nominated for awards. They are:

CHAMBER ENSEMBLE 

SONGS OF NADIA ANJUMAN composed by Richard Blackford for soprano and string orchestra published in the UK by Nimbus Music Publishing 

TOMB! composed by Laurence Osborn for strings, percussion and piano 

UNDONE composed by Soosan Lolavar for solo de-tuned violin and string ensemble

 

COMMUNITY AND PARTICIPATION

FLY/WORK/GROW composed by Hannah Conway for amateur child and adult vocal soloists, operatic soprano, pro-vocalist, recorded speech, violin, cello and piano

 

LARGE ENSEMBLE

POUND OF CURE composed by Ryan Latimer for string orchestra 

THE STONES IN THE RIVER BY OUR CAMP IN THE FOREST / THE SPACE ON THE GROUND WHERE WE LAY composed by Rufus Isabel Elliot for string ensemble 

VIOLA CONCERTO ‘THREE GODDESSES’ composed by Edward Gregson for viola and string orchestra published in the UK by Novello and Co

 

ORCHESTRAL COMPOSITION

I CANNOT LOVE WITHOUT TREMBLING composed by Cassandra Miller for viola and orchestra published in the UK by Faber Music

 

SMALL CHAMBER

BYOYOMI composed by Rūta Vitkauskaitė for clarinet and string quartet 

ENGLISH DANCING MASTER composed by Leo Chadburn for pre-recorded voices and string quartet 

LAKES, MISTS, BATS, DAGGERS, AND FOUNTAINS composed by Laurence Osborn for string quartet

 

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.’

The full list of nominees can be viewed here.

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