Sir Harrison Birtwistle (above) has extended his reign as the British Composer Awards’ (BCA) most honoured composer after last night’s ceremony, in which his Responses: Sweet disorder and the carefully careless for piano and orchestra won the Orchestral Award. The award takes Birtwistle's tally up to 7. He has been nominated 13 times, an average of more than one a year since the Britih Composer Awards were inaugurated in 2004.
Birtwistle was not the only returning award winner: Julian Anderson and Michael Finnissy both gained two additional awards this year to add to previous collections, and James Dillon and Rory Boyle won their third and second awards respectively.
However, among the cluster of regular returning visitors, there were also five first-time award-winners. These included Kate Whitely, whose Alive was premiered by children’s choir and orchestra in a Peckham car-park.
The British Composer Awards take place annually in December. Each category is judged by individual juries, which are comprised of fellow composers plus other influential members of the classical music community. The ceremony will be featured in Radio 3 programme Hear and Now at 10pm on Saturday 12 December.
2015 British Composer Award Winners:
Amateur or Young Performers: Alive by Kate Whitley
Choral: Stabat Mater dolorosa by James Dillon
Community or Educational Project: Snapshot Songs by Stuart Hancock
Contemporary Jazz Composition: The Fox, The Parakeet & The Chestnut by Trish Clowes
Large Chamber: Many stares (through semi-nocturnal Zeiss-Blink) - Module 30 by Sinan Savaskan
Liturgical: John the Baptist by Michael Finnissy
Orchestral: Responses: Sweet disorder and the carefully careless by Harrison Birtwistle
Small Chamber: String Quartet No.2 by Julian Anderson
Solo or Duo: Beat Generation Ballads by Michael Finnissy
Sonic Art: Currents by Yann Seznec
Stage Works: Thebans by Julian Anderson
Wind Band or Brass Band: Muckle Flugga by Rory Boyle