APRA AMCOS opens $100k Art Music Fund applications

APRA AMCOS has opened applications for its fourth Art Music Fund.

Australian and New Zealand composers can apply to get a share of a $100,000 pool to create new commissioned work “that is innovative, displays professional compositional craft and represent a benchmark of excellence in its field.

“The intention is to support composers to create works with a long artistic life.”

The fund has lived up to APRA AMCOS’ expectations, supporting innovative works by composers from a range of disciplines, from improvisational jazz to multi-media sound art, and from children’s opera to major orchestral works.

In the past year, various funded works came to fruition.

Liza Lim’s Extinction Events and Dawn Chorus made its world premiere in Witten, Germany.

Eve Klein’s acclaimed and out-of-the-box operatic Vocal Womb had its world premiere at MOFO at MONA.

Matt Keegan’s The Three Seas project, a collaboration of Australian jazz and West Bengali folk musicians, had its world premiere at Wangaratta Festival of Jazz and Blues and will be performed throughout India in December.

Speak Percussion’s Eugene Ughetti’s funded work Polar Force has its world premiere this weekend (November 24 at Arts Centre Melbourne, with performances through December 1.

The work uses field recordings from the Australian Antarctic to create an immersive sound and percussion experience.

Ughetti says, “The Art Music Fund has quickly garnered the reputation as one of Australia’s most important commissioning funds for art music.

“It has undoubtedly resulted in the creation and support of many new significant new works.

“ In many instances, these works are pillars around which Australian musicians and arts workers forge their careers and collaboratively drive the significance of art music within Australian culture.”

APRA AMCOS’ head of member services Jana Gibson says, “We’re very proud of the Art Music Fund and the vital role it has played in supporting composers bring new works to life – works that then go on to be programmed and performed in venues, concert halls and festivals in Australia, New Zealand and around the world.

“The creation of new works is beneficial for the entire art music ecosystem.”

Applications close February 20 at 5pm AEDT. Successful applicants will be notified at the end of April. You can find application guidelines and details here.