Julian Anderson stole the show at the 2011 British Composer Awards ceremony yesterday, scooping prizes in the Orchestral and Liturgical categories for his works Fantasias and Bell Mass. Now in their ninth year, the awards are hosted by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) in association with BBC Radio 3 and sponsored by PRS for Music. Anderson has previously won two awards.
This year, the BASCA received almost 300 submissions of works premiered between April 1, 2010 and March 31, 2011, from established composers and new talent. Amongst the well-known names were Anthony Payne, who won in the Chamber category for his String Quartet No 2, William Sweeney, whose Sonata for Cello and Piano triumphed in the Instrumental Solo or Duo category and Graham Fitkin, taking the new Outreach award for his vocal and orchestral work PK, commissioned for the 2010 BBC Proms.
Also honoured were Lucy Pankhurst in the Wind or Brass Band category for In Pitch Black, which marks the anniversary of the Pretoria Pit disaster, Huw Watkins in the Vocal category for Five Larkin Songs, Orlando Gough in the Stage Works category for A Ring A Lamp A Thing, and John Barber who received the Community or Educational Project award for Consider the Lilies.