Cheetham, Kats-Chernin And Lacey Win Top Spots In 2022 Australian Women in Music Awards
The 2022 Australian Women in Music Awards winners have been announced with Deborah Cheetham AO receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award, accepted on her behalf by The Hon Annastacia Palaszczuk, MP Premier of Queensland and Elena Kats-Chernin receiving the Artistic Excellence Award. Geneveive Lacey won the award for Excellence in Classical Music.
The Emerging Artist Award went to newcomer Martha Marlow with the Songwriter Award going to the prolific artist Tania Doko.
This year was the third Australian Women in Music Awards which was held at the Tivoli in Brisbane. The ceremony will be broadcast on May 21 for the first time on ABC TV with Dame Olivia Newton-John AC DBE inducted into the AWMA Honour Role alongside music legends Helen Reddy and Judith Durham AO. The announcement was celebrated with a special tribute for Olivia performed by Tina Arena who also presented the inaugural Special Impact Award, in her name, to Dina Bassile for her pioneering work creating disability access for live music and arts events.
After two years of cancellations. MC’s Yumi Stynes and Dizzy Doolan presented performances from Emma Donovan & Kee àhn, Tina Arena, BARKAA & Dizzy Doolan, Sahara Beck, Sandy Evans & Satsuki Odamura and Montaigne, plus a rousing world premiere performance of the new classical composition, Jubilissima, commissioned by AWMA, and performed by Elena Kats-Chernin with Brandenburg lead trumpeter Leanne Sullivan.
Yorta Yorta woman Deborah Cheetham and Elena Kats-Chernin, esteemed composers and performers at the peak of their extensive careers, were recognised for their pioneering and individual leadership roles over decades in Australian music. AWMA Jurors said Cheetham was a trailblazer whose voice spoke to much more than just music, forging a strong path forward for reconciliation in Australia. The artistic excellence and extent of international recognition for Kats-Chernin made her a great representative for Australian classical music and inspired many other female identifying composers.
Other Awards:
Music Leadership: Frontier Touring’s Sahara Herald/ Creative Leadership: Emily Ulman/ Diversity in Music: Eliza Hull/ Excellence in Image-Making: Cindy Vogels/Music Photography: Cybele Malinowski/ Music Journalist: Poppy Reid/ Film Maker: Lucy Knox/ Studio Production: Alice Ivy/ Live Production Touring Award: Casey O’Shaughnessy from Select Music/ Live Creative Production Award, presented by Katie Noonan: Kait Hall/ Humanitarian Award: Leigh Carriage/
