APRA AMCOS and the Australian Music Centre congratulate all finalists of the 2026 Art Music Awards. Winners will be announced here after the Award ceremony on Wednesday 19 August 2026.
Follow the links below to find out more about the artists and the works in the AMC online catalogue.
Work of the Year: Choral
| Title: | Adira Arenio and Agnus Dei |
| Composer: | Alice Chance with Kaylynn Zaro OAM and Noel Zaro OAM |
| Performer: | Sydney Philharmonia Choirs VOX and Elizabeth Scott (conductor) |
| Title: | Mahāsāgar |
| Composer: | Paul Stanhope* |
| Text: | Rhys Halkidis, Steve Hawke, Michael Leunig, Cass Lynch, Alexander Maloof and Elizabeth Riddell |
| Publisher: | Wise Music* |
| Performer: | West Australian Symphony Orchestra and Chorus with Sara Macliver (soprano), Andrew Goodwin (tenor), and Asher Fisch (conductor) |
| Title: | There is Music |
| Composer: | Stephen Leek |
| Text: | Jane Greenwood |
| Performer: | Brisbane Chamber Choir |
| Title: | Vivemus Cantare |
| Composer: | Carl Crossin |
| Text: | James Wheldon Johnson, Walt Whitman and Carl Crossin |
| Performer: | Adelaide Chamber Singers and Christie Anderson (conductor) |
Work of the Year: Dramatic
| Title: | Hiroshima mon Amour |
| Composer: | Rósa Lind |
| Text: | Marguerite Duras |
| Performer: | Bozzini Quartet and Chants Libre |
| Title: | Living Poems of the Sea |
| Composer: | Lyle Chan |
| Performer: | Sally Walker (flutes, narration, percussion) |
| Title: | Opera for the Dead |
| Composer: | Mindy Meng Wang and Monica Lim |
| Performer: | Mindy Meng Wang, Monica Lim, Yu-Tien Lin, Nils Hobiger and Alexander Meagher |
| Title: | Pigeon Humongous |
| Composer: | Nicholas Roder |
| Performer: | Nicholas Roder, Merinda Dias-Jayasinha, Lena Douglas, Lewis Coleman, Sydney Dance Company, and Harrison Ritchie-Jones (choreographer) |
Work of the Year: Jazz & Improvised Music
| Title: | Northern Rhapsody |
| Composer: | Hamed Sadeghi |
| Performer: | Eishan Ensemble (Hamed Sadeghi, Michael Avgenicos, Max Alduca and Adem Yilmaz) |
| Title: | The Cloud Maker |
| Composer: | Aviva Endean, Te Kahureremoa Taumata, Sunny Kim, Maria Moles and Freya Schack-Arnott |
| Performer: | The Cloud Maker |
| Title: | To Kill A Magic We Got Used To |
| Composer: | Aaron Choulai and Roman MC |
| Performer: | Australian Art Orchestra |
| Title: | When All Is Still and Quiet |
| Composer: | Nat Bartsch |
| Publisher: | Origin Music Publishing |
| Performer: | VCA Secondary School Improvisation Ensemble & Chamber Choir |
Work of the Year: Large Ensemble
| Title: | Nguy Gapu (Ocean Water) |
| Composer: | Rrawun Maymuru and Nick Wales* |
| Publisher: | Wise Music* |
| Performer: | Rrawun Maymuru and the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra |
| Title: | Symphony No. 4, Op. 119 |
| Composer: | Andrew Schultz |
| Performer: | West Australian Symphony Orchestra and Otto Tausk (conductor) |
| Title: | Clarinet Concertino: Second Chance |
| Composer: | Ben Robinson |
| Performer: | Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Eloise Fisher (solo clarinet) and Simon Reade (conductor) |
| Title: | the ocean's dream of itself |
| Composer: | Alex Turley |
| Performer: | Sasha Cooke, Donald Runnicles and Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra |
| Title: | The way it soars, the way it dances |
| Composer: | Naomi Dodd |
| Performer: | Jennifer Owen and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra |
Work of the Year: Medium Ensemble
| Title: | BloodRiverRootTree |
| Composer: | Noemi Liba Friedman |
| Performer: | Meg Cohen, Phoebe Green, Alex McDonald, Roseanne Hunt, Peter Neville, Hamish Gould, Sarvenaz Monfaredi, Justine Anderson, Shelby MacCrae, Sophie Deka and Jakob Bragg (conductor) |
| Title: | Four Rooms |
| Composer: | Lee Bradshaw |
| Performer: | Flinders String Quartet and Australian Youth Orchestra Chamber Players |
| Title: | The Big Idea |
| Composer: | Matthew Shlomowitz |
| Performer: | Rubiks Collective and Lotte Betts-Dean |
| Title: | Sonnet of an Emigrant |
| Composer: | Cathy Milliken |
| Performer: | Takacs Quartet |
Work of the Year: Solo & Small Ensemble
| Title: | Duet for One |
| Composer/Multimedia: | Damian Barbeler |
| Multimedia: | Tim Gruchy |
| Performer: | Sonya Lifschitz |
| Title: | Killing the Angel in the House |
| Composer: | Anne Cawrse |
| Performer: | Eliza Shephard |
| Title: | Tidelines |
| Composer: | Zela Papageorgiou, Alistair McLean and Hamish Upton |
| Performer: | Zela Papageorgiou and Hamish Upton |
| Title: | Yama no Yume |
| Composer: | Jim Franklin |
| Performer: | Jim Franklin |
Work of the Year: Electroacoustic/Sound Art
| Title: | Dark Oceanography |
| Composer: | Kate Milligan |
| Music Technologist: | Aaron Wyatt |
| Oceanographer: | Navid Constantinou |
| Performer: | Louise Devenish (Director), Niki Johnson, and Sofia Carbonara (The Sound Collectors Lab) |
| Title: | Exhalation |
| Composer: | Madeleine Flynn and Tim Humphrey |
| Visual Artists: | Vuth Lyno, Pal Panha, Leang Titnita and Phan Sophorn |
| Performance contributors: | Madeleine Flynn, Tim Humphrey, Helen Svoboda, Winter McQuinn, Robert Larsen (speaker design), Tom McKeand (sound design) and Pat Telfer (sound engineer) |
| Title: | For A Moment the Sky Knew My Name |
| Composer: | Peter Knight |
| Performer: | Peter Knight |
| Title: | Swell |
| Composer: | Annie Hui-Hsin Hsieh |
| Performer: | Phoebe Green |
Performance of the Year: Jazz & Improvised Music
| Performer: | Aviva Endean, Cahwatie Sugiarto and Matthias Schack-Arnott |
| Title: | Lung Swara |
| Composer: | Aviva Endean, Cahwatie Sugiarto and Matthias Schack-Arnott |
| Performer: | Mad Vantage |
| Title: | PRESS |
| Composer: | Selene Messinis and Timothy Cox |
| Performer: | The Cloud Maker |
| Title: | The Cloud Maker |
| Composer: | Aviva Endean, Sunny Kim, Maria Moles, Te Kahreremoa Taumata, Freya Schack-Arnott and Jasmin Win-Ying Leung |
| Performer: | Delay 45 and Ensemble Apex |
| Title: | Ghosts Between Streams II |
| Composer: | Tom Avgenicos |
Performance of the Year: Classical & Experimental
| Performer: | Australian String Quartet & Dr Lou Bennett AM |
| Title: | nyilamum song cycles |
| Composer: | Dr Lou Bennett AM and Paul Stanhope* |
| Publisher: | Wise Music* |
| Performer: | Sonja Schebeck with Joshua Frazer and Allie Wang |
| Title: | LIMBO Sonata |
| Composer: | Chloé Charody |
| Performer: | Speak Percussion |
| Title: | Pigeons |
| Composer: | Eugene Ughetti |
| Text: | Kaylie Melville, Nick Roux, Jason Lehane, Bosco Shaw, Keith Tucker, Kate Davis and Bruce Gladwin |
| Performer: | Duckworth Hullick Duo |
| Title: | Disruptive Critters |
| Composer: | James Hullick and Jonathan Duckworth |
Performance of the Year: Soloist
| Performer: | Claire Edwardes (soloist) with Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and Benjamin Northey (conductor) |
| Title: | Dances with Devils |
| Composer: | Iain Grandage |
| Performer: | Mindy Meng Wang (soloist) and MSO |
| Title: | Concerto for Guzheng and Orchestra |
| Composer: | Jessica Wells |
| Performer: | Nick Russoniello |
| Title: | Air Mass Suite |
| Composer: | Nick Russoniello |
| Performer: | Sonya Lifschitz |
| Title: | Duet for One |
| Composer/Multimedia: | Damian Barbeler |
| Multimedia: | Tim Gruchy |
Award for Excellence in Music Education
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Award for Excellence in a Regional Area
- Chamber Music Adelaide and Port Augusta Performing Arts for Where We Meet: Chamber Music
- Moorambilla Voices for sustained leadership in delivering artistically excellent, culturally grounded music-making in regional and remote NSW
- Tura and Marninwarntikura Women's Resource Centre for Buga Yanu Junba (Songs for Young Children)
- Van Diemen's Band for VDB Lunchbox Concerts
Award for Excellence in Experimental Practice
- Chamber Made for 2025 presentations and artist development activities
- Mindy Meng Wang for excellence in experimental music and ongoing contribution to the Australian art music scene
- The Sonicrats for The Music Makers' program
- Shaun Fogarty for SOUNDSTONE
Richard Gill Award for Distinguished Services
To be announced
Luminary Awards - National Award
National Organisations
- Flinders Quartet
- Forest Collective
- Musica Viva Australia
- Rubiks Collective
National Individual
- Assoc Prof Dr Jeanell Carrigan AM
- Daryl Buckley
- Jeremy Rose
- Jon Smeathers
Luminary Awards - State and Territory
Australian Capital Territory
To be announced
New South Wales
To be announced
Queensland
To be announced
South Australia
To be announced
Tasmania
To be announced
Victoria
To be announced
Western Australia
To be announced