2020 Chamber Music Adelaide Young Artist Award Winner Announced

Chamber Music Adelaide (CMA) has announced that the winner of the 2020 Young Artist Award for Classical Music Performance is cellist David Moran who won a cash prize of $3,000 along with a number of professional performance opportunities with CMA supported organisations. Two runners up harpist Phillippa McAuliffe and cellist Mason Stanton were each awarded a cash prize of $500.

The 2020 Young Artist Award finalist event, hosted by CMA, was a great success and held on Friday 28 August at the North Adelaide Baptist Church with a small gathering. For the first time, due to COVID-19, the event was livestreamed online and sponsored by Recitals Australia through their association with I-Nex and ArtFuel.

A panel of chamber music professionals including internationally renowned conductor Nicholas Braithwaite, Artistic Director of Various People Cheryl Pickering and Artistic Director of The Firm and composer Quentin Grant judged the final performances. Award winner and cellist David Moran performed Gyorgi Ligeti's Sonata for Solo Cello, I Dialogo, Kaija Saariaho, movements i, ii, iv and vi from Sept Papillons and J.S. Bach Largo from Violin Sonata No. 3 in C major. (own transcription)

David Moran is currently studying a Masters of Arts in Music Research at Monash University examining the treatment of unstable sounds in several recent works for solo cello and their impact on conceptions of virtuosity and instrumental practice more broadly. On winning the award David said "I am thrilled to have been awarded CMA's Young Artist Award for 2020. In a year without many performance highlights winning the award has had a profound impact on my confidence in my artistic direction and technical development. I plan to put some of the winnings towards the creative development and recording of a new work with multidisciplinary artist Iran Sanadzadeh for cello and electronics. In this work we will engage with ideas about musical gesture, looking to subvert traditional understandings of the relationship between gesture and musical meaning through the interaction between cello and live electronics. The opportunities for performances with CMA ensembles in the year ahead is an exciting prospect for me. I hope to present some new works and share my passion for contemporary directions in musical thought".

Chamber Music Adelaide General Manager, Bridget Alfred said "CMA is so pleased to be providing tangible support to South Australia's young artists. This year's finalists were three talented and highly skilled young musicians, it was a difficult task for the judging panel to choose three finalists from all the applications let alone to decide on first place. We are blessed with fertile ground for emerging musicians in Adelaide and the future of classical and chamber music here is looking very bright indeed".

The Chamber Music Adelaide Young Artist Award was launched in July 2018 to support emerging South Australian classical artists giving them the opportunity to develop their skills, build networks and perform in a professional capacity with other South Australian seasoned musicians. The annual award is open to South Australian residents in the field of classical music performance, for instrumentalists between 21-30 years of age or vocalists between 21-35 years of age and is supported by generous South Australian philanthropists and CMA Champion organisations. (Adelaide Baroque, Ensemble Galante, Kegelstatt Ensemble, Recitals Australia, Soundstream New Music, The Firm and Various People Inc.)

Chamber Music Adelaide (CMA) facilitates and supports the performance of chamber music in Adelaide. It was formed in 2013 to support the performance of chamber music by seven core organisations: Adelaide Baroque, Ensemble Galante, Kegelstatt Ensemble, Recitals Australia, Soundstream New Music, The Firm and Various People Inc.

In addition, it promotes a wider remit of chamber music performers and presenters in South Australia and celebrates Adelaide as a UNESCO City of Music, along with 180 cities in 72 countries worldwide.