The finalists for the 2019 Paul Lowin Prizes have been announced, with six Australian compositions shortlisted for the prestigious Orchestral and Song Cycle prizes. The finalists were chosen from almost 100 original works composed since the previous Lowin Prizes awarded in 2016.

“The submissions to this year’s Paul Lowin Prizes reflect the multitude of styles in composition and artistic expression that is one of the main hallmarks of Australian art music today,” said CEO of the Australian Music Centre John Davis.

Katy AbbottKaty Abbott

The finalists for the Orchestral Prize, worth $25,000, are Brett Dean’s Cello Concerto, which Alban Gerhardt performed with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra last year, conducted by David Robertson; Lachlan Skipworth’s Spiritus, premiered by the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, under Daniel Blendulf (which has already collected the 2017 Albert H Maggs Composition Award and was a finalist in the 2018 Art Music Awards); and Nigel Westlake’s Spirit of the Wild Concerto for Oboe, which the Sydney Symphony Orchestra premiered in 2017 with Diana Doherty. The SSO’s recent