In the first ceremony since 2019, the Peggy-Glanville Hicks Address was held in-person in Sydney on 14 November. The 2022 Paul Lowin Prizes were also presented at the same event. This year’s speakers were didgeridoo virtuoso and composer William Barton, and music educator Dr Anita Collins, whose animated TED-Ed talk, How playing an instrument benefits your brain, has collected over 10 million views on YouTube.

In his Address, Barton discussed the direct and rich connection of his musical development to Kalkadunga Country and how it continues to inspire and live within his practice and performance today. He highlights how disparate values and influences – from the likes of Metallica, Slim Dusty and Vivaldi – forge a unity a musical approach that “listens to the lullaby of our landscape”.

Anita Collins underlined the importance of musical education, its vital impact on young musicians, and how creating opportunity for children in music, in both urban and regional areaa, can spur personal revolution. She also talked about her establishment of the Goulburn Strings Project and its collaboration with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra.

Below is the...