Cellist, director and producer Chris Howlett has been announced as one of this year’s Victorian recipients of the Winston Churchill Fellowship, which he will use to research and develop “creative and sustainable approaches for a digital arts platform”.

Howlett’s career is marked by a pronounced passion for fostering accessibility to Australian music, often bringing performances to roads less travelled. He is a co-director of the Bendigo Chamber Music Festival; this year he participates as a performer and host of its first ‘Conversation Concert’, where he will talk about the importance of commissions to the development and sustainability of the Australian artistic landscape. He also directs the Sanguine Estate Music Festival, a festival that takes place over three days at the Heathcote winery this October, following two years of postponement and turbulence.

Alongside Adele Schonhardt, he is also the co-director of Australian Digital Concert Hall.  Founded as Melbourne Digital Concert Hall in 2020, it aimed to create a platform to foster accessibility and sustainability for musicians during COVID by livestreaming performances online, and won People’s Choice at the 2021 Limelight Artist of the Year Awards.

Howlett’s Fellowship will allow him to travel and work next to international industry frontrunners...