The Ivor Novello Academy announced the winners of The Ivor Composer Awards announced on Dec. 1, 2020. The accolades are bestowed upon new works by composers writing for classical, jazz, and sound art.

For the purposes of this article, our focus will be on opera or choral works.

In the Stage Works category, the winner was Philip Venables’ “Denis & Katya.” The judges commented that the work was “incredibly skilful in its musical craft with exquisitely heard electronics” and that they felt “it is moving opera forward.”

Meanwhile, Richard Blackford’s “Pietà” was selected for the Best Choral work. In their examination of the work, the judges assessed that “Pietà” was “ambitious, dramatic, colorful and powerful whilst also being performable.”

“My heartfelt congratulations go to all the winners, nominees and recipients of Gift of the Academy awards,” Gary Carpenter, Chair of The Ivors Academy’s Awards Committee, said in a press release.  “An Ivor Novello Award represents innovation, quality, creativity, determination and beauty through composition and music creation. But most of all it represents the esteem that composers and music creators hold for each other. “Contemporary classical, jazz and sound arts rely on performances, venues and events to reach our audiences. As we hopefully emerge from the worst of this health crisis we have an important opportunity to rejuvenate culture in the UK by supporting, nurturing and playing work by contemporary music creators.”