Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

The winners of the 2026 Art Music Awards were announced at a glittering ceremony celebrating Australia's art music community at The Timber Yard, Melbourne on Wednesday 19 August.

Leading the night's proceedings with two awards was Melbourne-based arts organisation Chamber Made, which picked up the Award for Excellence in Experimental Practice for its 2025 presentations and artist development activities, and the Victorian State Luminary Award for its incredible 35-year history of shaping Australian music and performance.

The ocean was a recurring theme for three of the evening's winners. Five-time Art Music Award winner Paul Stanhope's epic Mahāsāgar (the Hindi word for ocean), with text by Alexander Maloof, Cass Lynch, Elizabeth Riddell, Michael Leunig, Rhys Halkidis and Steve Hawke, was awarded Work of the Year: Choral. First time winner Alex Turley's the ocean's dream of itself for mezzo-soprano and orchestra was awarded the Work of the Year: Large Ensemble; and Dark Oceanography, developed by Kate Milligan and a team of artistic and climate science researchers including Aaron Wyatt, Louise Devenish and Navid Constantinou, took out Work of the Year: Electroacoustic/Sound Art.

Other Work of the Year honours went to Mindy Meng Wang and Monica Lim (Dramatic) for Opera for the Dead; Nat Bartsch (Jazz & Improvised Music) for When All Is Still and Quiet; Anne Cawrse (Solo and Small Ensemble) for Killing the Angel in the House; and Noemi Liba Friedman's BloodRiverRootTree received Work of the Year: Medium Ensemble.

In the three Performance of the Year categories, The Cloud Maker was awarded Performance of the Year: Jazz & Improvised Music for The Cloud Maker; Nick Russoniello's performance of his own composition, Air Mass Suite, took out Performance of the Year: Soloist; and the Australian String Quartet and Yorta Yorta Dja Dja Wurrung performer and academic, Dr Lou Bennett AM, were awarded Performance of the Year: Classical & Experimental for nyilamum song cycles, a collaborative First Nations-led work by Dr Bennett and Paul Stanhope.

Luminary Awards recognised artists and organisations whose vision, leadership and commitment continue to shape Australian music across the country with Musica Viva Australia awarded the National Luminary Award (Organisation) and Daryl Buckley with the National Luminary Award (Individual). State and Territory Luminary Award recipients were announced before the ceremony and presented on the night.

The Wollongong Conservatorium of Music received the Award for Excellence in Music Education for its Music in Schools program, while Chamber Music Adelaide and Port Augusta Performing Arts won the Award for Excellence in a Regional Area for Where We Meet: Chamber Music.

Internationally acclaimed Australian composer, educator and researcher, Professor Liza Lim AM, received the prestigious Richard Gill Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music in recognition of her visionary contribution to Australian art music.

Catherine Haridy, CEO of the Australian Music Centre (AMC), says: "Congratulations to all of this year's finalists and recipients recognised at the 2026 Art Music Awards! Tonight showcased the breadth of talent and ambition within the art music community; music and stories that reflect who we are as a nation. We are incredibly proud to celebrate these achievements with you and look to the future with enthusiasm."

Dean Ormston, CEO of APRA AMCOS, adds: "Tonight's recipients are proof that Australian art music is thriving and I give my heartfelt congratulations to them all! As we celebrate our 100th year, they remind us of the enduring power of great music to challenge, connect and inspire. From established artists to emerging voices, these creators are expanding the possibilities of music and enriching our cultural life for audiences and the next generation of music creators."

Presented by APRA AMCOS and the Australian Music Centre (AMC), this year's awards were hosted by Namila Benson with guest presenters Aura Go and Connor D'Netto. The evening included performances curated by acclaimed artist Sia Ahmad, featuring violinist, vocalist, dancer and composer Eric Avery with Flinders Quartet; pianist Sonya Lifschitz; Western and Carnatic violinist Bhairavi Raman with mridangam player and percussionist Nanthesh Sivarajah; genre-defying collaborators David Moran, Maryam Rahmani and Sebastian Collen; and Reuben Lewis's I Hold the Lions Paw with vocalist Michelle Nicolle and choir.

2026 Art Music Award winners

Work of the Year: Choral

Title: Mahāsāgar
Composer: Paul Stanhope*
Text: Rhys Halkidis, Steve Hawke, Michael Leunig, Cass Lynch, Alexander Maloof and Elizabeth Riddell
Publisher: Wise Music*
Performer: West Australian Symphony Orchestra and Chorus with Sara Macliver (soprano), Andrew Goodwin (tenor), and Asher Fisch (conductor)

Work of the Year: Dramatic

Title: Opera for the Dead
Composer: Mindy Meng Wang and Monica Lim
Performer: Mindy Meng Wang, Monica Lim, Yu-Tien Lin, Nils Hobiger and Alexander Meagher

Work of the Year: Jazz & Improvised Music

Title: When All Is Still and Quiet
Composer: Nat Bartsch
Publisher: Origin Music Publishing
Performer: VCA Secondary School Improvisation Ensemble & Chamber Choir

Work of the Year: Large Ensemble

Title: the ocean's dream of itself
Composer: Alex Turley
Performer: Sasha Cooke, Donald Runnicles and Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra

Work of the Year: Medium Ensemble

Title: BloodRiverRootTree
Composer: Noemi Liba Friedman
Performer: Meg Cohen, Phoebe Green, Alex McDonald, Roseanne Hunt, Peter Neville, Hamish Gould, Sarvenaz Monfaredi, Justine Anderson, Shelby MacCrae, Sophie Deka and Jakob Bragg (conductor)

Work of the Year: Solo and Small Ensemble

Title: Killing the Angel in the House
Composer: Anne Cawrse
Performer: Eliza Shephard

Work of the Year: Electroacoustic/Sound Art

Title: Dark Oceanography
Composer: Kate Milligan
Music Technologist: Aaron Wyatt
Oceanographer: Navid Constantinou
Performer: Louise Devenish (Director), Niki Johnson, and Sofia Carbonara (The Sound Collectors Lab)

Performance of the Year: Jazz/Improvised Music

Performer: The Cloud Maker
Title: The Cloud Maker
Composer: Aviva Endean, Sunny Kim, Maria Moles, Te Kahreremoa Taumata, Freya Schack-Arnott and Jasmin Win-Ying Leung

Performance of the Year: Classical & Experimental

Performer: Australian String Quartet & Dr Lou Bennett AM
Title: nyilamum song cycles
Composer: Dr Lou Bennett AM and Paul Stanhope*
Publisher: Wise Music*

Performance of the Year: Soloist

Performer: Nick Russoniello
Title: Air Mass Suite
Composer: Nick Russoniello

Award for Excellence in Music Education

Wollongong Conservatorium of Music for Music in Schools program

Award for Excellence in a Regional Area

Chamber Music Adelaide and Port Augusta Performing Arts for Where We Meet: Chamber Music

Award for Excellence in Experimental Practice

Chamber Made for 2025 presentations and artist development activities

Luminary Awards - National Awards (Organisation)

Musica Viva Australia

Luminary Awards - National Awards (Individual)

Daryl Buckley

Richard Gill Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music

Liza Lim AM

Luminary: State/Territory

ACT - Michael Sollis for work as an artistic leader, community facilitator, composer and educator.

NSW - People's Republic for significant contributions as a venue, promoter and studio for new and experimental music.

QLD - Alex Raineri for his work as an extraordinary musician, director and creator, and for fostering performance, collaboration and new creative opportunities through the Brisbane Music Festival.

SA - Melanie Walters for work as Principal Flute of Adelaide Wind Orchestra, Artistic Director of Coruscalia Collective and champion of new music in South Australia.

TAS - Van Diemen's Band for presenting world-class music to regional and remote communities, commissioning new Australian works alongside 400-year-old masterpieces, and building a deep, reciprocal trust with audiences.

VIC - Chamber Made for shaping Australian music and performance for more than 35 years through ambitious, internationally engaged productions, and investment in composers, sound artists, and performance makers.

WA - Hannah Lee Tungate for Tenth Muse Initiative and Women Composers Project.