APRA AMCOS has announced the finalists for the 2023 APRA Professional Development Awards.

Across nine categories, 56 artists are in contention to receive a share from a $120,000 prize pool supporting the careers of emerging artists, composers and songwriters.

The number of finalists has risen from 50 last year with the addition of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music Office (NATSIMO) subsections, created in order to support First Nations artists at various stages in their careers. 

2023 Professional Development Award finalists Victoria Pham, James Hazel, Flora Carbo and Claire Cross. Photos supplied

This year’s Classical/Experimental finalists are Andrea Guterres, James Hazel, Josten Myburgh, Mark Holdsworth and Victoria Pham.

Andrea Guterres is an interdisciplinary composer and classical guitarist, whose practice focuses on spatialised and electroacoustic formats. Her works have been featured at festivals across Australia, Asia, the United States and Europe, including by Ensemble Offspring, the UK-based Block4, New York’s Ensemble Mise-En, and the Nieuw Ensemble from the Netherlands.

James Hazel is a composer, sound artist and writer who works across a...