Finnish composer Sebastian Hilli won the Gaudeamus Award 2018 on Sunday 9 September at the end of the Gaudeamus Muziekweek 2018. Gaudeamus director Henk Heuvelmans gave the prestigious incentive prize for young music pioneers to Hilli. Hilli joins the ranks of lauded earlier winners including Peter Schat, Michel van der Aa and Louis Andriessen.
The jury – consisting of composers Mayke Nas, Nicole Lizée and Richard Ayres – was quoted saying about Hilli: “Sebastian Hilli has a very personal aesthetic that is underlying all of his music, and he possesses the technical knowledge and imagination to realize what he is driven to create. His music combines bold structures with a huge variety of subtle sonic detail.”
Winning the Gaudeamus Award means an international recognition for composers and has been a kickstart of the career of many earlier winners. The Gaudeamus Award is an incentive prize for young composers up to 30. The prize consists of an amount of €5.000 to be spent on a new commissioned piece for an upcoming edition of the Gaudeamus Muziekweek. Gaudeamus stays tightly connected to the career of all winning and nominated composers. The organisation takes care of new commissions, reprises of pieces played at the festival and international exchanges with festivals and related organisations worldwide.
Photo © Herre Vermeer