James MacMillan receives Ivors Academy Fellowship
James MacMillan becomes the 26th Fellow of The Ivors Academy, joining a roll-call of extraordinary composers and songwriters. The presentation takes place at the Barbican in London on 15 March when the composer conducts the European premiere of his recent work Fiat Lux, scored for soloists, chorus and orchestra.
The Ivors Academy has announced Sir James MacMillan as the recipient of Academy Fellowship, which is the highest honour bestowed by the Academy. The Fellowship is awarded at the Barbican on 15 March, where MacMillan conducts the European premiere of his work Fiat Lux with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.
MacMillan receives Academy Fellowship in recognition of his compositional excellence, immense impact and enduring legacy in the world of music creation. With over 200 works in his acclaimed catalogue, he is known as one of the most successful living composers. He founded his own music festival, The Cumnock Tryst, in his childhood town in Scotland in 2014. Awarded a CBE in 2004, he was knighted in 2015 for services to music.
MacMillan has previously been recognised with multiple awards from The Ivors Academy, including an Ivor Novello Award in 2007 for his outstanding contribution to classical music and two British Composer Awards (now known as The Ivors Classical Awards) in 2008 and 2013 respectively.
Tom Gray, Chair of The Ivors Academy, said: "It is a great privilege to welcome Sir James MacMillan as the latest Fellow of The Ivors Academy. A prolific and globally-renowned composer, Sir James is a foremost proponent of the power of music to communicate and forge bonds. He is a titan of music, generous in his creativity and craft, and extremely worthy of this recognition from his peers."
James MacMillan stated: “It is a great delight and honour to be welcomed as a new Fellow of the Ivors Academy. It is humbling to read the list of Fellows and I will take this opportunity to rededicate my energies to the power of music and its mysterious ability to transform lives.”
The Ivors Academy Fellowships recognise excellence and impact in the art and craft of music creation which has been awarded to 25 musicians and composers since 2000. The current list of Fellows includes John Adams, Joan Armatrading CBE, David Arnold, Sir Malcolm Arnold CBE, John Barry OBE, Don Black OBE, Pierre Boulez CBE, Kate Bush CBE, Sir John Dankworth CBE, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies CH CBE, George Fenton, David Ferguson, Peter Gabriel, Sir Barry Gibb CBE, Maurice Gibb CBE, Robin Gibb CBE, Sir Elton John, Julian Joseph OBE, Annie Lennox OBE, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Tim Rice, John Rutter CBE, Judith Weir CBE and Sting. More information about the Fellows can be found here.
In 2024 The Ivors Academy will recognise the achievements of songwriters and composers by presenting Ivor Novello Awards at two ceremonies. The Ivors, at the Grosvenor House on 23rd May, celebrates the craft of songwriting and screen composing. The Ivors Classical Awards at BFI Southbank on 12th November, recognises outstanding contemporary composing for classical music and sound art. Entries for The Ivors Classical Awards open in June.
About The Ivors Academy
The Ivors Academy is the UK’s independent professional association for music creators. We represent and champion a diverse, talented community of songwriters and composers. We are a self-funded not-for-profit organisation, relying on the continued support of our members and partners to carry on our work.
The Ivor Novello Awards are the ultimate accolade for songwriting and composition in the industry. The Ivors celebrate the talents of songwriters and screen composers, and The Ivors Classical Awards recognise composers of contemporary classical and sound art.
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About James MacMillan
James MacMillan is the pre-eminent Scottish composer of his generation. He first attracted attention with the acclaimed BBC Proms premiere of The Confession of Isobel Gowdie (1990). His percussion concerto Veni, Veni, Emmanuel (1992) has received over 500 performances worldwide by orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics and Cleveland Orchestra. Other major works include the cantata Seven Last Words from the Cross (1993), Quickening (1998) for soloists, children's choir, mixed choir and orchestra, the operas Inès de Castro (2001) and The Sacrifice (2005-06), St John Passion (2007), St Luke Passion (2013) and Symphony No.5: 'Le grand Inconnu' (2018).
He was featured composer at Edinburgh Festival (1993, 2019), Southbank Centre (1997), BBC’s Barbican Composer Weekend (2005) and Grafenegg Festival (2012). His interpreters include soloists Evelyn Glennie, Colin Currie, Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Vadim Repin, conductors Leonard Slatkin, Sir Andrew Davis, Marin Alsop and Sir Donald Runnicles, choreographer Christopher Wheeldon and stage director Katie Mitchell. His recordings can be found on BMG/RCA Red Seal, BIS, Chandos, Naxos, Hyperion, Coro, Linn and Challenge Classics.
Recent highlights include MacMillan’s Stabat Mater for The Sixteen streamed from the Sistine Chapel and premieres of the 40-voice motet Vidi aquam, Christmas Oratorio streamed in 2021 by NTR Dutch Radio from the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and recorded by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, and the anthem Who Shall Separate Us? commissioned for the funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth II in 2022. The annual Cumnock Tryst festival was founded by the composer in 2014 in his childhood town in Scotland.
In addition to the European premiere of Fiat Lux, coming months see first performances of a new Robert Burns setting Composed in August in Edinburgh with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Chorus on 21 March and in Tallinn with the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir on 13 April as part of a season-long feature on the composer. Marin Alsop conducts the Austrian premiere of MacMillan's orchestral work Woman of the Apocalypse with the RSO Wien at the Vienna Konzerthaus on 21 March and Mark Elder conducts the European premiere of Timotheus, Bacchus and Cecilia with the Hallé orchestra and choirs on 31 May in his final Manchester programme as Music Director.
> Further information on Work: Fiat Lux
Photo: James Bellorini
