‘Gilgamesh’ Opera Dominates 2025 Art Music Awards
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Sydney,Australia – August 21,2025 – Jack Symonds‘ groundbreaking opera,Gilgamesh,was the major โขwinner at the 2025 Art Music Awards,presented in aโฃ ceremony held in Sydney today. Theโ awards recognize outstanding achievements in contemporary โขclassical music, jazz, improvisation, and โฃexperimental sound arts across Australia.
A modern Take on an Ancient Epic
Based on theโ ancient Sumerianโ Epic of Gilgamesh, the opera exploresโข themes โof tyranny, friendship, love, and the search for wisdom. This โproduction โฃmarked the first time the epic has been realizedโ as an English-language opera, โwith aโ libretto penned by Louis Garrick.
Didโค you Know? โTheโฃ Epic of โคGilgamesh is considered one of the earliest surviving great works of literature.
Key Winners and Recognition
Composer Jackโข Symonds secured โคtwo awards: Work of the โYear: Dramatic for Gilgamesh,and the NSW State โคLuminary Awardโ acknowledging hisโ important contributions to Australian opera. The production itself, a collaboration between Sydney Chamber Opera, Operaโฃ Australia, the Australian String Quartet, and Ensemble Offspring, also received the Performanceโ of the Year:โฃ Notatedโ Compositionโ award.
The awards also celebrated other prominentโ figures inโค the Australian music landscape. Stephen Adams, a former presenter and producer for ABC Classic, was honoredโค with a National Luminaryโ Awardโ for hisโข dedication to โAustralian music. Jazz saxophonist Cheryl Durongpisitkul, as part of the trio Koiโค Kingdom, won work of the Year: Jazz.
Celebrating Diversity in Composition
The 2025 awards โhighlighted theโข growing impact of women composers within the Australianโค art community.Anneโ Cawrse,Cathy Milliken,and Kate Milligan each received Work of the Year awards in the categories of Choral Composition,chamber Music,and Electroacoustic/Sound Art,respectively.
Further accolades were given โto Chloe Kim for her composition, Music for Six Double Bassists, which earned the Performance of the Year: โJazz/Improvised โMusic award. Art music pioneers Jon Rose and Hollis Taylor were jointlyโฃ awarded the Richard Gillโ Award for โขDistinguished Servicesโค to Australianโฃ Music, recognizing their innovative and boundary-pushing work, โincluding their โคproject mapping the acoustic qualities of Australia’s vast fence lines.
Award Ceremony Details
The ceremony, โฃorganized by the Australian Music Center and APRA AMCOS, took place at Sydney’s City Recital Hall. ABC Classic Drive presenter Vanessa Hughes hosted the event, with guest presenters Nardi Simpson and Hamed Sadeghi, and music curation by Sia Ahmad.
2025 Art Music Awards: Key โฃWinners
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Work of the Year: Choral | Anne Cawrse: All Flesh Is Fire |
| Work of the Year: Dramatic | Jack symonds: Gilgamesh |
| Work of the Year: Jazz | Cheryl Durongpisitkul, Stephen Hornby, Marcos Villalta: Koi โคkingdom |
| Work of the Year: Large Ensemble | Jakub Jankowski:โ Ritornello |
| work of the Year: chamber Music | cathy Milliken: Inโ Speak |
| work of the Year: โฃElectroacoustic/Sound Art | Kate Milligan: Tactus |
| Performanceโข of the Year: Jazz/Improvised Music | Maxโ Alduca, Jacques Emery,โ Brett Hirst,โฃ Chloe Kim, Oscar Neyland,โ Helenโ svoboda, Jonathan Zwartz: Music For Six Double Bassists |
| Performance โฃof โthe Year: Notated Composition | Sydney Chamber โOpera, Opera Australia, Australian String Quartet, Ensembleโ Offspring: โข Gilgamesh |
Pro Tip: Explore the work of the Australian Music Centre (AMC) toโฃ discover more about contemporary Australian composers and performers.
Additional Awards & Recognition
Musica Viva Australia received the Award for Excellence in Music Education for its Accessible Musicโค Education Program. Bigโข hART wasโ awarded the Award for โExcellence in a Regional area for Tjaabi: Flood Country – 2024 Regionalโ Tour.Aviva Endean received the Award forโข Excellence in experimentalโ Practice for her work, The Breath Becomes โThe Wind.
Luminary Awards were โคalso presented to individualsโฃ and organizations โmaking significant contributions at the state and โterritory levels, recognizing sustained impact and leadership within their communities.
What does this surge in recognitionโค for Australian composers and performersโ mean for the future of the nation’s art music scene? And how will these awards inspire the next generation of musical innovators?