Composers Michael Yezerski and Burkhard Dallwitz were among the big winners at the APRA-AGSC Screen Music Awards at Sydney’s City Recital Hall, where they grabbed two trophies each.
Yezerski won best soundtrack album for the Australian feature film “The Black Balloon”, and took best original song composed for the screen, which he jointly accepted with co-composer Josh Pyke for the song “When We Get There.”
Pyke performed the song with support from an ensemble that included members of Australian alternative rock act the Cat Empire, and was conducted on the night by composer Cezary Skubiszewski, who also won best music for a documentary for “Night.”
Dallwitz’s brace of awards came in respect to the TV drama series “Underbelly,”
which earned him wins for best television theme and best music for a television series or serial.
David Hirschfelder took out the best feature film score award for the movie “Children of the Silk Road,” notching up the fifth time he has won the category.
As previously reported, long-time screen composing collaborators Garry McDonald and Lawrence Stone jointly-received the international achievement award at the Nov. 3 ceremony.
The annual gala, the only one of its kind to acknowledge the works of Australian screen composers, is jointly organized by the Australasian Performing Right Association and the Australian Guild Of Screen Composers.
In separate awards news, Phil Stack, bass player with Australian pop/rock outfit Thirsty Merc, has taken out first place at the 2008 National Jazz Awards. Stack’s win includes a $6,000 Australian ($4,056) cheque, a recording session and an invitation to play at the Stonnington Jazz concert series in Melbourne next May.
The Jazz Awards have been hosted each year since 1990 as a component of the Wangaratta Festival Of Jazz, held in the rural Victorian town, roughly 230km north east of Melbourne.
