Australian Prix Italia Award Winner
28 October 2003
Emerging Composer Colin Black's radiophonic/musical work The Ears Outside My Listening Room has won first prize in the prestigious international Prix Italia Awards.
Colin Black's ABC commissioned musical work won the award in the category of Radio Music - Composed Work.
The Prix Italia is the oldest and most prestigious international radio, television and web competition, now in its 55th year. Entry to the awards is open to public and private broadcasters, such as the BBC and ABC, from more than 60 countries around the world.
'Ears', as Black affectionately refers to his work, was designed in four segments: Family, City, Country and Creation.
"It takes a snapshot of our country, our people, our time, our diversity, our culture and tries to preserve it in an album of emotive musical and sonic collage," he said.
Music and soundscape artistically entwine recordings of real Australians' speaking voices to make a sonic patch-work quilt that can be passed down the generations.
Black produced, composed, compiled and co-engineered the winning work during his 2002 residency with the ABC acoustic arts programme, The Listening Room. The Ears Outside My Listening Room was then selected from all of the ABC's new music programmes as their entry into the Prix Italia.
You can hear this award winning musical/radiophonic composition in The Listening Room on 15 December at 9.00pm on ABC Classic FM. Also Radio National is planning a special broadcast of the whole program on Australia Day 2004 at 12.05pm.
