Young composer awarded inaugural Peter Sculthorpe Fellowship
An emerging composer from south west Sydney has been awarded the inaugural Peter Sculthorpe Music Fellowship in honour of the internationally renowned Australian composer who passed away in 2014.
Deputy Premier and Minister for the Arts Troy Grant said Peggy Polias was chosen as the recipient of the $30,000 fellowship to record albums, create new compositions and develop a project to stream newly composed music online.
“I am proud this initiative honours the enormous contribution of Peter Sculthorpe AO OBE and supports an emerging NSW -based artist producing new Australian music,” Mr Grant said.
Deputy Premier and Minister for the Arts Troy Grant, Fellowship recipient Peggy Polias, Dr Ross Edwards AM (Peter Sculthorpe Trustee and Sydney Conservatorium of Music lecturer) and Professor Matthew Hindson AM (Acting Head of School, Sydney Conservatorium of Music).
“The NSW Government is committed to supporting professional development of artists to grow a thriving, globally connected arts and cultural sector.”
Peter Sculthorpe Fellowship Trustee and Associate Dean (Staff Development & Mentoring) at Sydney Conservatorium of Music Professor Anne Boyd AM said she was delighted the inaugural fellowship was awarded to such an exciting and original emerging NSW-based composer.
“Peter Sculthorpe was instrumental in shaping a distinctive Australian musical identity. He brought the mysterious spirit of our continent to life, not only through his incredible body of work, but also through the generations of students and teachers he mentored over more than 40 years at the University of Sydney,” she said.
Dean and Principal (Acting) of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music Professor Anna Reid said: “I am extremely happy this inaugural fellowship has been awarded to a creative and serious emerging composer who also studied at the Conservatorium.”
A committee comprising representatives from the Sculthorpe Trustees, the NSW Government and the University of Sydney selected the recipient from 22 applications.
The fellowship, to be offered every second year, is sponsored jointly by the NSW Government and Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney.