A work by composer Angus Davison has been selected to represent the Australian division of the 2023 World New Music Days Festival.

Presented from 23 November – 3 December, the World New Music Days is an annual contemporary music festival hosted by the International Society for Contemporary Music and takes place in South Africa this year. 

Angus Davison. Photo © Oscar Smith

Chosen for the Medium Chamber Ensemble Category, Angus Davison’s Nigel, written for string trio, clarinet and piano, is based on the true story of an attempt by New Zealand conservationists to repopulate the bird life of Mana Island. Using concrete birds to coax them back, the fruitless effort managed to attract one sole gannet, Nigel. Dubbed “the world’s loneliest bird”,  Nigel selected one ersatz bird as his mate, built them a nest, and lived out the rest of his life on the island with his stony paramour.

Davison’s work was commissioned...