Finalists for APRA Professional Development Awards unveiled

The 50 artists competing for a win at the 2021 APRA Professional Development Awards (PDAs) have been revealed, with the group vying for a share in the $100,000 cash prize pool.

The list of finalists showcases a broad range of songwriting and composing talent including popular contemporary, hip hop, film & television, dance/electronic and classical.

This year has also seen the introduction of the music theatre category.

The APRA PDAs are held annually, and previous winners include Gotye, Julia Jacklin, Ecca Vandal, Briggs, Ainslie Wills, Jeremy Rose and Caitlin Yeo.

Winners in each category can take home $10,000 as well as a prize from Australis Music.

The Smugglers of Light Foundation Music and Media Award will also provide a promising Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander music or media practitioner with a grant of $10,000.

The winners of the APRA PDAa and the Smugglers of Light Foundation Music and Media Award will be announced on Thursday, June 24.

The full list of finalists is below. They also feature on a new playlist on both Spotify and Apple Music.

POPULAR CONTEMPORARY
(2 Awards will be given in this category including Pop, Rock, Alternative, Blues, Roots, Folk, Metal, Christian and Children’s)
Alex Lahey
Bri Clark
Elizabeth Drummond
Elle Graham pka Woodes / Tornado Club
Georgia Potter pka Moreton
Gordon Koang
Leah Senior
Sahara Beck
Tessa Thames
Tia Gostelow

CLASSICAL / EXPERIMENTAL
Alex Turley
Carolyn Schofield
Chris Williams
Connor D’Netto
Samantha Wolf

COUNTRY / AMERICANA
Blake O’Connor
Casey Barnes
Greta Ziller
Melanie Dyer
Sarah Buckley pka The Buckleys

DANCE/ELECTRONIC
Christopher Arnott pka Friendless
Elizabeth Maniscalco pka BRUX
Jannah Beth
Tamika Nacson pka XIRA
Taka Perry

FILM & TELEVISION
Angela Little
Emily Harrison
Freya Berkout
Paul Doust
Ryan Sorensen

HIP HOP / RAP / R&B / SOUL
Angela Paez Izquierdo pka ANGE
Jessica Koroi pka JESSWAR
Josh Molony pka Setwun
Maribelle Anes pka Vetta Borne
Milan Ring

JAZZ
Andrew Saragossi
Audrey Boyle pka Audrey Powne
Harry Mitchell
Rafael Karlen
Steve Barry

MUSIC THEATRE
Daniel Cullen – Dubbo Championship Wrestling
Hugo Chiarella & Naomi Livingston – Paradise Road
Maggie McKenna – Inventing Ivy
Naomi Livingston & Hugo Chiarella – Evie May
Sean Donehue – Bearded

SMUGGLERS OF LIGHT FOUNDATION MUSIC AND MEDIA AWARD
Danzal Baker pka Baker Boy
Eleea Navarro
Jeremy Marou
Robbie Miller
Yirrmal Marika