We are delighted to announce the 20 composers who will be commissioned by ANAM to write a solo or duo work for each of our third-year musicians in 2024 as part of The ANAM Set 2024.
The inaugural ANAM Set project in 2021 comprised of 67 new works – more than eight hours of new Australian music, that was premiered in 2022. With the support of the Australian Government through Creative Australia, the project now continues into 2024 with composers from a range of career trajectories, genres and styles and, for the first time, three composers from New Zealand.
The Australian composers commissioned for 2024 are Natasha Anderson, Victor Arul, Lee Bradshaw, Andrew Chen, Lisa Cheney, Peter de Jager, Connor D'Netto, Stuart Greenbaum, Jonathan Heilbron, Christine Pan, Peggy Polias, Christopher Sainsbury, Lachlan Skipworth, Chris Williams, Justin Williams and Aaron Wyatt, plus Hollis Taylor and Jon Rose who will jointly work with one musician. They are joined from New Zealand by Salina Fisher, Callum Mallett and Miriama Young.
New Zealand composer Callum Mallett said:
"Already, the ANAM Set is an epoch-defining collection of Australian New Music.
"This initiative fosters a unique partnership between composer and performer, that is so important to my work. I'm grateful this important exchange extends to composers across the Tasman, and I am so pleased to be able to collaborate with committed musician(s) early in their career. […]
"Composition is more than the individual act of creation. The partnership between the composer and performer is a dialogue I am enthusiastic to explore as part of the ANAM Set. This project is enabling of a unique collaboration, and I hope to breakdown the inherent hegemony of 'creator' and 'interpreter', the product a decisive result of our explorations together".
We received over 170 expressions of interest in August from composers across Australia and New Zealand, signalling the rich vein of creative energy that The ANAM Set has tapped into. By the end of 2024 The ANAM Set will total 87 new works, and by the end of 2025 the number will have grown to nearly a hundred. From there on, the body of work will still be growing. Witnessing the project’s vitalising effect on original Australian musical culture, ANAM wishes to secure a piece of specially composed music for every musician coming through its doors.
ANAM Artistic Director Paavali Jumppanen said:
“This project has again created such a buzz at ANAM. The variety, quality, and the sheer amount of this year’s submissions was stunning!
"The selection panel was particularly pleased with a great number of emerging composers and their stylistic individuality. We all agreed that with this round of expressions of interest we could easily feed several years’ of the ANAM Set, and indeed we will now work on finding the means to keep delivering these collaborative works that celebrate the creation of new music in this country in such a powerful way”.