NOMINATION: Excellence in Experimental Practice
For works, people or events that interrogate, extend, or challenge standard artistic practice within the Australian repertoire
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.
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Nominee
Elizabeth Walton
Nominated Project/Activity
Tyto Novaehollandiae
Nominator Statement
I, Richard Lawson, am honored to nominate Elizabeth Walton and her track Tyto Novaehollandiae for the Experimental Practice category of the APRA AMCOS Art Music Awards 2025.
Elizabeths work has evolved over many years, and this track represents a sublime culmination of her dedication, study, and artistic refinement. As a gifted Classical, Jazz, and Improvisational pianist, she has performed both solo and in collaboration for the past 15 years.
Tyto Novaehollandiae (the Australian Masked Owl) is nominated for its free-flowing form, intricate beauty, and subtle textural hues. The piece was featured on her debut solo album Sonificatio Somnians, available on all digital platforms, and also served as the soundtrack for an environmental short film by award-winning filmmaker David Gallan. Additionally, it was highlighted in a live interview with Paul West on ABC South East.
For over 15 years, Elizabeth has pushed the boundaries of artistic practice, exploring new territory in recording and multimedia projects. Her work often surprises and challenges peers with groundbreaking insights into the intrinsic nature of sound and composition. This particular track serves as both a bridge and an extension between film music and the natural world, capturing an emotional response to owls. Indeed, the music is meant as a journey of the forest, hopefully to a state of protection. The presence of the Masked Owl in regional forests was significant enough to be recorded in Hansard in State Parliament, leading to a suspension of logging and the preservation of the forest. David Gallans film was created in response to this event, forming an artistic dialogue between composer and filmmaker.
Elizabeths deep knowledge of classical, experimental, and jazz traditions allows her to deconstruct and reinvent music in extraordinary ways. Her Conservatorium training enables her to seamlessly blend and reinterpret genres, sometimes even reversing or restructuring pieces to make them almost unrecognizable from their original form. She often inserts voids or spaces within compositions, creating suspense and leaving room for dialogue in collaborative works.
Her commitment to experimentation and defying musical conventions is unwavering. She challenges the standard artistic practice not just as an artist, but as a principle. Tyto Novaehollandiae was recorded in a single take whilst watching the rushes of the film, on her Yamaha Electric Piano using Logic audio software, with a haunting ghost note effect triggered by the original track. Elizabeth handled the mixing and mastering herself before its digital release, demonstrating her meticulous attention to detail and artistic vision.
For these reasons, I wholeheartedly support her nomination.
Nominee
Elizabeth Walton
Nominated Project/Activity
Tyto Novaehollandiae
Elizabeths work has evolved over many years, and this track represents a sublime culmination of her dedication, study, and artistic refinement. As a gifted Classical, Jazz, and Improvisational pianist, she has performed both solo and in collaboration for the past 15 years.
Tyto Novaehollandiae (the Australian Masked Owl) is nominated for its free-flowing form, intricate beauty, and subtle textural hues. The piece was featured on her debut solo album Sonificatio Somnians, available on all digital platforms, and also served as the soundtrack for an environmental short film by award-winning filmmaker David Gallan. Additionally, it was highlighted in a live interview with Paul West on ABC South East.
For over 15 years, Elizabeth has pushed the boundaries of artistic practice, exploring new territory in recording and multimedia projects. Her work often surprises and challenges peers with groundbreaking insights into the intrinsic nature of sound and composition. This particular track serves as both a bridge and an extension between film music and the natural world, capturing an emotional response to owls. Indeed, the music is meant as a journey of the forest, hopefully to a state of protection. The presence of the Masked Owl in regional forests was significant enough to be recorded in Hansard in State Parliament, leading to a suspension of logging and the preservation of the forest. David Gallans film was created in response to this event, forming an artistic dialogue between composer and filmmaker.
Elizabeths deep knowledge of classical, experimental, and jazz traditions allows her to deconstruct and reinvent music in extraordinary ways. Her Conservatorium training enables her to seamlessly blend and reinterpret genres, sometimes even reversing or restructuring pieces to make them almost unrecognizable from their original form. She often inserts voids or spaces within compositions, creating suspense and leaving room for dialogue in collaborative works.
Her commitment to experimentation and defying musical conventions is unwavering. She challenges the standard artistic practice not just as an artist, but as a principle. Tyto Novaehollandiae was recorded in a single take whilst watching the rushes of the film, on her Yamaha Electric Piano using Logic audio software, with a haunting ghost note effect triggered by the original track. Elizabeth handled the mixing and mastering herself before its digital release, demonstrating her meticulous attention to detail and artistic vision.
For these reasons, I wholeheartedly support her nomination.