Shining a light

Awarded by composers to composers, The Ivors have propelled a wealth of outstanding British talent to the forefront of musical life during the past two decades, as Kate Wakeling discovers

- Kate Wakeling

‘One thing I’ve realised,’ says Gavin Higgins, ‘is that hardly anyone understands what being a composer is like. When you’re a composer you know how much time, energy, effort and stress goes into making a piece, but most people haven’t got a clue what it’s all about – which is fine! But even people who’ve been commissioning for years sometimes say things which take my breath away and I think: “Oh God, they really have no idea what composers do.”’

Sponsored by PRS for Music, the annual Ivors Composer Awards are all about recognising just how much blood, sweat and tears go into creating a new piece of music. ‘Composers often stay behind the scenes,’ notes director of the awards Fran Matthews, ‘and our mission is to raise their profile. I think awards can be looked down upon as a bit backslapping, but I don’t think we encourage people that much in society. We don’t tell people that they’re doing an amazing job at the thing that they do. With these awards we want to acknowledge exceptional talent and say to somebody, “This is an incredible piece of music.”’

The awards celebrate their 20th outing this year. Lending some extra razzamatazz to an often-overlooked sector of the music industry, categories range from best large-scale classical composition to best work for solo performer, alongside awards for jazz composition and sound art. In addition, ‘Gift of the Academy’ awards celebrate composers’ sustained contributions to the industry, with an award for ‘Outstanding Works Collection’, plus awards for Impact, Vision and Innovation.