Melbourne Recital Centre (MRC) has announced that the sixth Merlyn Myer Music Commission is open for applications.

The biennial commission awards $12,000 to one female composer for the creation of a new work, to be performed by the Syzygy Ensemble in November 2025. The work’s premiere will also be recorded and made available on MRC’s YouTube Channel.

Syzygy Ensemble. Photo supplied

“After five completed Merlyn Myer Commissions, there is now a strong pattern that has emerged. It has become self-evident that the Commission seeks and encourages the development of a musical composition that will stretch the composer’s imagination and musicality, challenge talented performers and delight and extend audiences,” said Annabel and Rupert Myer. “It is deeply rewarding for us to observe how this process evolves.”

The Commission was established in the name of late arts philanthropist Dame Merlyn Myer and aims to provide the chosen composer with “significant creative freedom” in the creation of her work. It covers the travel expenses for the composer and the performers’ fees.

Past winners of the award include Brenda Gifford (2023), current MRC Composer-in-Residence Nat Bartsch (2021), Deborah Cheetham Fraillon (2019),...