Jazz outfit SymmeTrio has been awarded the prestigious 2024 Ossa Music Prize with a program highlighting their collaborative compositions.
Bachelor of Music students Louis Monaghan (piano), Jode Brewster (saxophone) and Joshua Ford-King (trumpet) will receive a prize valued at $10,000, which includes $2500 for their own use and the balance to fully fund a tour of regional Tasmania.
“We put so much work and effort into this and especially writing as a group,” Mr Monaghan said. “Winning this prize is so great because it means we can take this to the rural areas of Tasmania and have it develop over time as well.”
The trio’s presentation in the concert final at the Hedberg included original work and a re-imagining of American composer Walter Gross’ classic Tenderly.
“We wanted to make something a little bit different, without the usual rhythm section (of drums and bass),” Mr Ford-King said. “Composing for this setting opened a whole new bunch of possibilities that I wasn’t really aware of.”
SymmeTrio took the prize over songwriter/producer Charlie Pyecroft and classical duo Reuben and Zachary Allen. The Allen brothers took out the People’s Choice Award voted on by the audience.
Louis, Jode and Joshua have been performing together as a trio for just two months. They compose collaboratively, focusing on harmonic and acoustic exploration, influenced by Australian composers Sam Anning and Andrea Keller.
Judging panel member and Lecturer in Contemporary Music Alistair Dobson said the trio had displayed a maturity beyond their years in their performance.
“They played super-maturely,” he said. “They played beautifully interactive music and wrote some of that music themselves. It’s fantastic composition, fantastic interactive improvisation and also a fantastic performance.”
The panel also included Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra harpist and Manager Artistic Operations Meriel Owen and Head of School, Creative Arts and Media, Professor Meg Keating.
The Ossa Prize is named after Tasmania’s highest mountain peak and was established in 2018 by University alumnus Dr Rod Roberts and Mrs Cecile Roberts to help students pursue excellence in musicianship. The tour will include a performance in Queenstown in memory of Margaret Stoermer, thanks to support provided by her family.
It will also include the North West and East Coast, with dates to be announced in the coming weeks.
A display of artworks by the late Marie Edwards, a graduate of the Tasmanian School of Art, was shown at the event with proceeds going towards the scholarship offered in her memory.
Find out more about Music courses at the state-of-the-art Hedberg.