Composers Rebecca Saunders, Roxanna Panufnik and Errollyn Wallen each took home an award at the 2024 Ivors Classical Award ceremony last night. The ceremony, held at the BFI at London’s Southbank, celebrated the best of UK classical music over the past year. 36 composers received nominations for the eight category awards which were presented last night as well as three Gift of the Academy awards.
The Ivors Academy awarded the Best Small Chamber Composition award to Rebecca Saunders’ The Mouth for soprano and tape. The work explores the mouth as the threshold between our thoughts and the rest of the world, and was written for soprano Juliet Fraser who gave its UK premiere at Aldeburgh Festival 2023.
The judges referred to the piece as “a stunning, dream-like journey that captures the essence of a Joycean narrative, blending deep emotion with poetic beauty.”
Roxanna Panufnik received her first Ivor Novello Award last night, taking home the Outstanding Works Collection Award in recognition of her consistently exceptional body of work. This Gift of the Academy award has previously been awarded to esteemed composers such as George Benjamin, Harrison Birtwistle, Erika Fox, Cecilia McDowall, Thea Musgrave, Sir John Tavener, Mark Anthony Turnage and Judith Weir.
The Ivors Academy celebrates Roxanna’s many achievements across choral, opera and instrumental compositions, highlighting her ability to bridge diverse faiths and cultures through music.
Finally, the Academy Fellowship, the highest honour bestowed by the Ivors Academy, was awarded to Errollyn Wallen, whose back catalogue is published by Edition Peters.
Wallen joins a prestigious list that includes John Adams, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Judith Weir, John Rutter, Bruce Springsteen, Joan Armatrading and Julian Joseph as fellows of the Ivors.
The Academy Fellowship recognises Wallen for having the highest level of excellence and impact in the art and craft of music creation, and celebrates her as a pioneering composer and songwriter whose influence on the UK’s musical landscape is significant.
On receiving the award, Wallen said
“I am deeply touched to receive this Academy Fellowship and am most honoured to join the twenty-seven illustrious musicians who are my predecessors. I would like to take this opportunity to give thanks for the guidance and encouragement I have received along my journey to becoming a composer — and for the lively artistic community of which I am part.”
BBC Radio 3 will broadcast the ceremony on Saturday November 16 in a special edition of the New Music Show and the episode will also be available on BBC Sounds.
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.
