NOMINATION: Luminary - Individual
The Luminary Awards seek to honour individuals who, through sustained contribution (demonstrated over a period 3-5 years prior), have impacted our community on a national scale through visionary leadership, fearless trailblazing, high-level artistic practice, and championing of Australian repertoire.
Nominations for individuals should demonstrate a program of activities or a range of projects rather than (for example) the recording and release of a single album. Nominations for a single work or project should be made in the Work of the Year or Excellence categories.
If you believe you are nominated in the wrong category or the details of your nomination to be incorrect, please contact the AMC via email at awards@australianmusiccentre.com.au before proceeding with the nomination.
Art Music Award guidelines →
Nominee
Alice Giles AM
Nominated Project/Activity
Ongoing contribution to Australian Harp repertoire, pedagogy and performance
State/Territory
New South Wales
Nominator Statement
The career of Alice Giles AM has been one of excellence, innovation and cultural service, and vibrantly continues today. Having been awarded an AM (Member of the Order of Australia) for significant service to the performing arts as a harpist, mentor and educator, and through contributions to Australias musical landscape, she continues to share, inspire, and facilitate the vitality of Australias harp and classical music scenes, and the Australian cultural scene more broadly. Celebrated as one of the worlds leading soloists, she utilises her exceptional artistic practice to champion the liveliness of Australian repertoire and the harp as a solo instrument.
Giles contribution to the harps repertoire and enrichment of new Australian Art Music is vast, distinctly and fearlessly establishing herself as a trailblazer in this field. In 2020, she presented a diverse program of works for Electroacoustic harp, made up entirely of works she had commissioned for that purpose. Her commitment to new Australian music for the instrument has sustained throughout her entire career, performing three major Australian compositions (lasting 12-20 minutes each) as part of the Phoenix Angel program, a poetic-theatrical combination of music, lighting and gesture. ('Harp Body Her Body' by Mary Doumany, 'Peregrinatio' by Sharon Calcraft, 'Helix Sequencing' by Jon Drummond). Further recent examples of Giles extraordinary championing of both her instrument, its repertoire, as well as that of contemporary Australian composers can be found below:
(Search: Flawless display of the harps lyricism and virtuosity CBR CityNews)
In the below example, Giles practice broadens beyond simply performing as an outstanding solo artist, but also with the mind and body of the audience and their relationship to the harps resonance carefully in mind:
(Search: Harp recital with a difference Central Coast Community News)
Giles continues to support and enrich the upcoming generation of composers, performing the World Premiere of her own students work Wind May Carry Broken Wings by Paul Nicolaou for solo konghou and harp quartet, alongside the Sydney Conservatorium Harp Ensemble in 2024. Giles impact as a fierce artistic trailblazer is also brilliantly demonstrated through her bold leadership of the Seven Harp Ensemble (SHE), the only harp septet in the world. Founded by Giles to expand community outreach, demonstrate the capabilities and versatility of the instrument and provide opportunities to some of Australias best young talent, the group are advocates for progressive contemporary works that extend the harmonic, rhythmic and timbral possibilities of the instrument beyond its traditional Romantic repertoire. The group have commissioned and widely performed numerous works by Australian composers internationally.
As an educator, Giles has garnered a significant reputation as an international leader in harp pedagogy. She has commissioned works of all levels such as Schultz 2020 work Sonatina for harp, opus 108, in response to a request to write some short pieces suitable for early stage harp performers. Giles led the 2021 revision of the AMEB Harp syllabus as Principal Consultant prioritising the inclusion of Australian repertoire, a substantial undertaking.
Nominee
Alice Giles AM
Nominated Project/Activity
Ongoing contribution to Australian Harp repertoire, pedagogy and performance
State/Territory
New South Wales
Giles contribution to the harps repertoire and enrichment of new Australian Art Music is vast, distinctly and fearlessly establishing herself as a trailblazer in this field. In 2020, she presented a diverse program of works for Electroacoustic harp, made up entirely of works she had commissioned for that purpose. Her commitment to new Australian music for the instrument has sustained throughout her entire career, performing three major Australian compositions (lasting 12-20 minutes each) as part of the Phoenix Angel program, a poetic-theatrical combination of music, lighting and gesture. ('Harp Body Her Body' by Mary Doumany, 'Peregrinatio' by Sharon Calcraft, 'Helix Sequencing' by Jon Drummond). Further recent examples of Giles extraordinary championing of both her instrument, its repertoire, as well as that of contemporary Australian composers can be found below:
(Search: Flawless display of the harps lyricism and virtuosity CBR CityNews)
In the below example, Giles practice broadens beyond simply performing as an outstanding solo artist, but also with the mind and body of the audience and their relationship to the harps resonance carefully in mind:
(Search: Harp recital with a difference Central Coast Community News)
Giles continues to support and enrich the upcoming generation of composers, performing the World Premiere of her own students work Wind May Carry Broken Wings by Paul Nicolaou for solo konghou and harp quartet, alongside the Sydney Conservatorium Harp Ensemble in 2024. Giles impact as a fierce artistic trailblazer is also brilliantly demonstrated through her bold leadership of the Seven Harp Ensemble (SHE), the only harp septet in the world. Founded by Giles to expand community outreach, demonstrate the capabilities and versatility of the instrument and provide opportunities to some of Australias best young talent, the group are advocates for progressive contemporary works that extend the harmonic, rhythmic and timbral possibilities of the instrument beyond its traditional Romantic repertoire. The group have commissioned and widely performed numerous works by Australian composers internationally.
As an educator, Giles has garnered a significant reputation as an international leader in harp pedagogy. She has commissioned works of all levels such as Schultz 2020 work Sonatina for harp, opus 108, in response to a request to write some short pieces suitable for early stage harp performers. Giles led the 2021 revision of the AMEB Harp syllabus as Principal Consultant prioritising the inclusion of Australian repertoire, a substantial undertaking.