Nigel Westlake Receives Award
Revered Australian composer and conductor Nigel Westlake will receive the Distinguished Services to the Australian Screen Award at the 2022 Screen Music Awards, APRA AMCOS and the Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC) announced today. The awards ceremony will take place at The Forum Melbourne, Naarm on Tuesday 15 November 2022. With Musical Direction by Jessica Wells, the Screen Music Awards will be co-hosted by Akina Edmonds, Anne Edmonds and Aaron Pedersen.
Born in Perth, Western Australia, Westlake’s thirty-year career began at the age of 17, touring the world as a freelance clarinettist, and saxophonist with a variety of ensembles. He composed his first film score in 1989, winning later acclaim for his score for the Oscar-nominated film Babe. His other film scores include Ali’s Wedding, Paper Planes, Miss Potter, Babe: Pig in the City, Children of the Revolution, and The Nugget, plus Imax films Antarctica, The Edge, Imagine and Solarmax. His television credits include documentaries, telemovies, news themes and station idents. Westlake’s numerous accolades, include the Gold Medal at the New York International Radio Festival and 11 APRA Awards for screen and classical music, two ARIA Awards and five AGSC Awards. He has twice won the Paul Lowin Orchestral prize and in 2013 was awarded an honorary doctorate in music by the University of NSW. In 2008 Nigel founded the Smugglers of Light Foundation with his family in memory of his son Eli, to promote cultural awareness and empowerment through music and film in Indigenous communities.
Westlake’s award will be presented by director, producer and screenwriter Robert Connolly with whom he has teamed with again for the feature film Blueback, based on the short story by Tim Winton.
Read our review of Westlake’s music performed y the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
