The 50 finalists for the 2021 APRA Professional Development Awards have been announced.
There are 10x $10,000 grants to be presented across 9 genres.
Finalists include Tia Gostelow, Casey Barnes, Connor D'Netto, Vetta Borne, Baker Boy and many more.
The 50 finalists for the 2021 APRA Professional Development Awards (PDAs) have been revealed today, showcasing a broad range of Australian songwriting and composing talent across the categories of Popular Contemporary, Hip Hop / Rap / Soul / R&B, Classical / Experimental, Jazz & Improvised Music, Film & Television, Country / Americana, Dance / Electronic, Music Theatre, as well as the Smugglers of Light Foundation Music and Media Award.
With profiles steadily on the rise, this year’s ‘shortlist’ includes breakthrough producer Taka Perry, singer-songwriters Leah Senior and Gordan Koang, 2021 APRA Music Awards nominee Melanie Dyer, hip-hop artist JESSWAR, saxophonist and improviser Andrew Saragossi, screen composer Angela Little, classical composer Alex Turley and more.
Now held annually, the APRA PDAs provide impactful support for emerging songwriters and composers - previous winners Gotye, Julia Jacklin, Ecca Vandal, Morgan Evans, Briggs, Ainslie Wills, Jeremy Rose and Caitlin Yeo have all benefited from this career-boosting initiative.
2021 also sees the introduction of a new Music Theatre category, offering funds for burgeoning composers to be used towards a workshop for their piece. The shortlist includes comedic-rock musical Dubbo Championship Wrestling and Evie May, a new musical based on the long-gone Tivoli vaudeville circuit.
A panel of local judges comprising Jenny Morris, Dom Alessio, Brooke McClymont, Amanda Cole, Pip Norman, Fanny Lumsden, Georgia Mooney, Joel Ma, John Ferris and more have determined this group of music creators who are in the running to each take home a career-changing cash prize of $10,000 as well as a prize from Australis Music. A complete list of this year’s PDAs judges can be found here.
The Smugglers of Light Foundation Music and Media Award returns to provide a promising Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander music or media practitioner with a grant of $10,000. The foundation was set up in memory of Eli Westlake, who was tragically killed in 2008 at the age of 21. Previous winners are songwriter and vocalist Jess Hitchcock; violinist, composer and dancer Eric Avery; and actor, singer, songwriter and composer Marcus Corowa.
The winners of the APRA PDAs and the Smugglers of Light Foundation Music and Media Award will be announced on Thursday 24 June 2021.
Without further ado, the finalists for the 2021 APRA PDAs:
(2 Awards will be given in this category including Pop, Rock, Alternative, Blues, Roots, Folk, Metal, Christian and Children’s)
DANCE / ELECTRONIC