Free House: But You Have To Write Songs For A Year

Olivia Davies and Jae Laffer have been announced as the two composers taking over Prelude residencies for 2023.

The Peggy Glanville-Hicks Composers House Trust holds the Prelude residencies. Both based in Western Australia, Davies and Laffer will be writing music and growing their crafts in historic buildings. Davies will spend 12 months in the Peggy Glanville-Hicks House in Sydney, while Laffer will take up residence in Gallop House, Perth, for the year. 

The two artists are taking over from the 2022 residents, Studio Production Award-winning producer at the Australian Women in Music Awards, Anna Laverty, and First Nations Resident Composer with Ensemble Offspring, Brenda Gifford.

Davies is known for her blend of acoustic and electronic music that spans multiple genres, including classical minimalism, experimental and ambient. She was announced as the next composer-in-residence with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra in September 2021. 

"I'm so grateful to have received this residency. I'm really looking forward to being in the house and having the time to focus on creating new music as well as to reconnect with peers and make new connections. For me it's an incredible opportunity for growth," Davies said.

Laffer, real name Justin Laffer, is the lead singer of the West Australian-based rock band The Panics. The band has released six critically acclaimed albums - including an ARIA Award and triple j Album Of The Year - and three EPs, and Laffer has released two solo albums. He will spend his time at Gallop House recording his third solo album with a series of collaborators.

The Peggy Glanville-Hicks Composers House Trust outlines Glanville-Hicks' mission statement. She passed on her terrace home in Paddington, Sydney, as a haven for composers and, "since 1994, it has housed 28 different Australian artists for long-term residencies. In 2016 the National Trust of Western Australia offered Gallop House in Perth as an additional residency." The two now form the core of the Prelude Program, a national network of residencies. 

"Prelude is open to Australian composers in all musical genres and practices. Residencies can be for research and development, for the creation of new work, or as a time for reflection and renewal.

"The program is made possible through the generous support of the Australia Council for the Arts, APRA AMCOS, Create NSW, and the National Trust of WA."

Applications for 2024 residencies in NSW and WA will open in mid-2023 - for more details, click here.