This year’s British Composer Awards were announced earlier this week, with an emphasis on young composing talent. 30 year-old composer Cheryl Frances-Hoad took two prizes, in both the "Instrumental Solo or Duo", and the "Liturgical" categories (with Stolen Rhythm from Homage to Haydn and Psalm 1: Blessed is the Man respectively).

This year saw the launch of a student competition, which was won by Mark David Boden with Siegfried Stanzas for soprano and violin. Two Awards brought their recipients commissions this year: the "Vocal" category winner, Ryan Wigglesworth, has been commissioned by BBC Radio 3 in association with its New Generation Artists scheme, while the "Making Music Award" winner, Kerry Andrew, received a commission from the Music Publishers Association for a choral piece which will be performed as part of a Making Music project involving amateur performers.

The full list of winners is as follows:

Chamber: Raymond Yiu Northwest Wind
Community or Educational Project: Karen MacIver James Watt: A Head of Steam
Vocal: Ryan Wigglesworth Augenlieder
Contemporary Jazz Composition: James Hamilton The Causeway Suite
Instrumental Solo or Duo: Cheryl Frances-Hoad Stolen Rhythm from Homage to Haydn
Sonic Art: John Wynne Installation for 300 speakers, Pianola and vacuum cleaner
Choral: Sasha Siem Psalm 140: Deliver me, O Lord
International Award: Unsuk Chin Concerto for Cello and Orchestra
Stage Works: Rory Boyle Kaspar Hauser
Liturgical: Cheryl Frances-Hoad Psalm 1: Blessed is the Man
Wind Band or Brass Band: Philip Grange Cloud Atlas
Making Music Award: Kerry Andrew Fall
Orchestral: Brian Elias Doubles
 
More than 300 works – which had to be premiered between April 1, 2009 and March 31, 2010 - were submitted for the Awards. Chairman of the Awards and of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, Sarah Rodgers, described it as “an outstanding set of awards”.

“The list of winners is indicative of new directions in contemporary music which are being determined by a new wave of young composers. BASCA is extremely proud to be playing a crucial role in helping to bring to light the work of emerging composers, alongside the exceptional achievements of more established creative artists," she said.

There’s still time to listen to the BBC Radio 3 edition of Performance on 3, dedicated to the Awards.