2025 Art Music Awards Finalists Revealed

Australian String Quartet, Aviva Endean, and Helen Svoboda are among the impressive list of finalists for the 2025 Art Music Awards, which will be held on Thursday, August 21st at the City Recital Hall in Sydney.

APRA AMCOS and the Australian Music Centre (AMC) have revealed finalists across 11 of the 15 categories, spanning composition, performance, excellence in music education, experimental practice and activity in regional areas.

The prestigious awards, which celebrate excellence in Australia's contemporary art music scene, have recognised several artists with multiple nominations this year. The Australian String Quartet has secured dual finalist positions in Performance of the Year: Notated Composition for Jack Symonds' Gilgamesh and Dr Lou Bennett AM and Paul Stanhope's work nyilamum song cycles. Dr Bennett AM has also received a nomination alongside Stanhope for Work of the Year: Chamber Music.

Experimental artist Aviva Endean has been recognised for her project, The Breath Becomes the Wind, earning finalist status in two categories: Work of the Year: Electroacoustic/Sound Art and Excellence in Experimental Practice.

Double bassist Helen Svoboda also features prominently among the finalists, with her work Headwater nominated for Work of the Year: Chamber Music. Svoboda is also one of seven performers on Chloe Kim's Music for Six Double Bassists, which has been nominated for Performance of the Year: Jazz/Improvised Music.

Olivia Davies continues her impressive streak with nominations for the third consecutive year. After winning Work of the Year: Electroacoustic/Sound Art in 2023, Davies' orchestral work Hyphae, commissioned for the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, is now contending for Work of the Year: Large Ensemble. Her interdisciplinary collaboration with 2024 Work of the Year: Chamber Music winner, Kate Milligan, and flautist Jonty Coy is also in the running for Work of the Year: Electroacoustic/Sound Art.

The finalists across all categories have demonstrated exceptional creative engagement and critical engagement with the contemporary world, along with cultural discovery and re-discovery.

The winners of the four remaining awards – the Richard Gill Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music and the three Luminary Awards – will be announced in August. These prestigious accolades recognise individuals and organisations who have made sustained contributions to Australian art music nationally and within each state and territory.

The Art Music Awards is an annual celebration that recognises excellence among creators, performers and community leaders in contemporary classical, jazz, experimental music and sound art.

For more information, visit apraamcos.com.au/2025artmusicawards.