Lyn Williams OAM Awarded Australia Council’s Don Banks Music Award

Lyn Williams OAM, Founder and Artistic Director of Gondwana Choirs  has been awarded the Australia Council for the Arts’ prestigious Don Banks Music Award for outstanding and sustained contribution to music in Australia.

The honour is in recognition of her lifework as founder of Gondwana Choirs, which began 27 years ago with the creation of the Sydney Children’s Choir. Lyn is known for her ground breaking and innovative work and has worked closely with many of Australia’s leading composers and has commissioned or premiered more than 200 new works.

“I feel very honoured, not to mention thrilled and surprised, to receive this award. I hope that it is recognition of the artistic capacity of young choirs. For this reason, I would like to pay tribute to all and my colleagues around the country who work with children’s choirs at a high level,” said Williams.

The award is named in honour of Don Banks, an Australian composer, performer and the first Chair of the Music Board. Past winners include Brett Dean (2016), Archie Roach (2015), Mike Nock (2014) Kev Carmody (2013), Jon Rose (2012) and Belinda Webster (2011).

Click here to read more about Lyn Williams’ work.