The UK’s Ivors Classical Awards Names 2024 Nominees 

The Ivors Academy has nominated 36 composers for Ivor Novello Awards across eight categories celebrating classical music and sound art

Founded in 2003 as the British Composer Awards, the Ivors Classical Awards celebrates the best new works by British, Irish, or UK resident composers writing for classical and sound art. 

The awards’ eight categories are judged anonymously; a panel of 42 composer judges from The Ivors Academy considered over 360 works entered for this year’s Awards. The 2024 shortlist comprises 39 works. 

The nominated pieces reflect a variety of themes — Julian Anderson’s ECHOES and Philip Venables’ music theatre piece The Faggots and their Friends Between Revolutions both focus on sexuality and queer communities, whilst Joanna Marsh’s Batter My Heart, Oliver Leith’s Hallelujah amen and Cassandra Miller’s The City, Full of People center on religion and spirituality.

On the topic of climate justice, works include Christian Mason’s environmental cantata The Singing Tree, Gavin Higgins’ Horn Concerto and Lisa Illean’a Tiding II (silentium) which focuses on the ocean. Other works inspired by nature are Benjamin Tassie’s A Ladder is Not the Only Kind of Time, Dan Jones’s Each Tiny Drop, and Duncan MacLeod’s Orasaigh.

More pieces include Hannah Conway’s FLY/WORK/GROW, which highlights the impact of temporary accommodation and homelessness on child health and development; Richard Blackford’s Songs of Nadia Anjuman on poets by Afghan poet Nadia Anjuman; Cassandra Miller’s I cannot love without trembling with quotations by French philosopher Simone Weil; Rūta Vitkauskaitė’s BYOYOMI dedicated to the Hiroshima tragedy, and many more. 

For the full list of 2024 nominees, click here. 

Additionally, this year’s nominated works have been commissioned by a range of organizations and ensembles, including the Britten Sinfonia, Wigmore Hall, Kings Place, Parabola Foundation, BBC Radio 3, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Opera Holland Park, and Factory International. 

The Ivors Classical Awards ceremony will be held on November 12, 2024, at the BFI Southbank in London. In all, 11 Ivor Novello Awards will be presented to eight category winners and three “Gift of the Academy” award winners. 

BBC Radio 3 will broadcast the ceremony in a special edition of the New Music Show on November 16, 2024, which will also be available on BBC Sounds.

“The Ivors Classical Awards 2024 nominees showcase the extraordinary diversity and vibrancy of contemporary classical music and sound art,” said Chair of The Ivors Academy, Tom Gray in the press release. “The nominated works not only exemplify artistic excellence, they also address a broad range of themes, from exploring our relationship with nature and addressing social issues to celebrating identity and resilience. Congratulations to all the nominees for their incredible contributions to our culture.”

“On behalf of The Ivors Academy and our community of songwriters and composers, I extend my warmest congratulations to all our nominees and deepest gratitude to our members who diligently judged this year’s submissions,” added The Ivors Academy CEO Roberto Neri. “An Ivor Novello Award is one of the most prestigious honors in music, made all the more special by peer recognition. We look forward to celebrating the highest achievements in composing for classical music and sound art at an inspiring ceremony on 12th November.”

“Congratulations to all the composers and sound artists nominated for an Ivor Novello Award,” noted Andrea Czapary Martin, CEO, PRS for Music. “Contemporary classical compositions are the manifestation of the composers’ incredible skills and dedication, the nominations not only recognise the importance of human expression but the brilliance of those breathing life into this tradition. It’s also inspiring to see that 29 out of the 36 nominees are PRS members, including seven composers nominated for the first time. We look forward to celebrating your creativity alongside your peers in November.”

“Championing contemporary music is at the heart of BBC Radio 3, and we are proud that the BBC remains the biggest commissioner of new works,” said Sam Jackson, BBC Radio 3 Controller. “As broadcast partner of The Ivors Classical Awards once more, it’s a privilege to support the creative endeavors of some of the most exciting talent in classical music and sound art. Congratulations to all the nominees — and we look forward to sharing this celebration of the UK’s vibrant music scene on Radio 3’s New Music Show on November 16.”