Nigel Westlake is an Australian composer, musician and conductor. As a composer for the screen, his film credits include the feature films '' Ali's Wedding'', ''

Paper Planes A paper plane (also known as a paper airplane in American English or paper aeroplane in British English) is a toy aircraft, usually a glider made out of single folded sheet of paper or paperboard. A simple nose-heavy paper plane, thrown like ...

'', '' Miss Potter'', '' Babe'', '' Babe: Pig in the City'', '' Children of the Revolution'' and ''

The Nugget ''The Nugget'' is a 2002 Australian comedy film about three friends who find the world's largest nugget of gold. Storyline The story concerns a group of three road workers who stumble upon the world's biggest nugget of gold, and become instant ...

''.

Biography

Westlake was born in Perth, Western Australia, the son of clarinettist Donald Westlake. Westlake studied the clarinet with his father, Donald (principal clarinettist, Sydney Conservatorium of Music 1961-1979) and subsequently left school early to pursue a performance career in music. By the age of 17, Westlake was touring Australia and the world, performing as a freelance clarinetist, bass clarinetist and saxophonist with ballet companies, a circus troupe, chamber music ensembles, fusion bands and orchestras. In 1983, Westlake studied bass clarinet and composition in the Netherlands and was appointed composer in residence for ABC Radio National in 1984. From 1987 to 1992 Westlake was resident clarinettist with

The Australia Ensemble Australia Ensemble UNSW is an Australian Chamber orchestra, chamber group active since 1980. The group was founded in 1980 as the University of New South Wales Ensemble after a proposal put to the University of New South Wales by musicologist Ro ...

, and went on to join guitarist John Williams' group

Attacca A variety of musical terms are likely to be encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special mus ...

. In 2008, Westlake founded the ''Smugglers of Light Foundation'' in memory of his son Eli, to promote cultural awareness and empowerment through music and film in youth and Indigenous Australian communities.

Personal life

Westlake is married to Jan Loquet Westlake, and together, they had two sons. Their son Eli was killed in a road rage incident on 7 June 2008, a few weeks before his 22nd birthday. Westlake composed ''Missa Solis - Requiem for Eli'' and dedicated it to Eli. It was premiered by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at the Myer Music Bowl in February 2011.

Filmography

* '' Candy Regentag'' (1989) * ''

Act of Necessity ''Act of Necessity'' is an Australian 1991 television film about a couple who believe their daughter's cancer is caused by chemicals.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p3 It was the fifth in a se ...

'' (1991) * '' Antarctica'' (1991) * '' Backsliding'' (1991) * '' Babe'' (1995) * '' Children of the Revolution'' (1996) * '' Wild Australia: The Edge'' (1996) * '' Babe: Pig in the City'' (1998) * '' A Little Bit of Soul'' (1998) * '' Solarmax'' (2000) * ''

'' (2002) * '' Horseplay'' (2003) * ''

Hell Has Harbour Views ''Hell Has Harbour Views'' is a 2001 novel written by Richard Beasley. A 2005 ABC telemovie written and directed by Peter Duncan, was based on the novel. Synopsis The story is set in a corrupt Sydney law firm and follows the protagonist, H ...

'' (2005) * '' Miss Potter'' (2006) * '' Stepfather of the Bride'' (2006) * ''

'' (2015) * '' Ali's Wedding'' (and soundtrack) (2017)

Awards and nominations

*In 1985: Westlake won Jazz Action Society Composition Competition. *In 1988: Westlake, won Gold Medal at the New York International Radio Festival. *In 2004, Westlake was awarded the HC Coombs Creative Arts Fellowship at the Australian National University. *In 2012, Westlake received an Honorary Doctorate of Music from the University of New South Wales.

Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards

* 2015 - AACTA Award Best Original Music Score - ''Paper Planes'' - nominated * 2017 - AACTA Award Best Original Score - ''Ali's Wedding '' - nominated

APRA Awards

The

APRA Awards APRA Awards may refer to one of two awards ceremonies: *APRA Awards (Australia) *APRA Awards (New Zealand) The APRA Music Awards are several annual and two-yearly award ceremonies run in New Zealand by Australasian Performing Right Association ...

are held in Australia and New Zealand by the

Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwr ...

to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually. ! , - ,

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

, "Refractions at Summer Cloud Bay" , Contemporary Classical Composition of the Year , , , - ,

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, ''Babe'' , Best Film Score , , , - , rowspan="2",

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

, ''The Edge'' , Most Performed Classical Work , , , - , Songs from the Forest , , Most Performed Classical Work , , , , , - , rowspan="2",

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

, , ''Babe: Pig in the City'' , , Best Film Score , , , , , - , "Laikan" (Australia Ensemble) , , Most Performed Contemporary Classical Composition , , , , , - , rowspan="2",

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, , ''Horse Play'' , , Best Feature Film Score , , , , , - , ''The Nugget'' , , Best Feature Film Score , , , , , - , rowspan="4",

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, , ''Piano Concerto'' – Michael Kieran Harvey , , Best Performance of an Australian Composition , , , , , - , ''Six Fish'' – Saffire Guitar Quartet , , Instrumental Work of the Year , , , , , - , ''Crystal Spheres'' – ''Solarmax'' film orchestra , , Orchestral Work of the Year , , , , , - , ''

'' , , Best Music for a Mini-Series or Telemovie , , , , , - , rowspan="4",

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, , ''When the Clock Strikes Me'' - Rebecca Lagos (soloist), Sydney Symphony , , Best Performance of an Australian Composition , , , , , - , rowspan="2", '' Miss Potter'' , , Feature Film Score of the Year , , , , , - , Best Soundtrack Album , , , , , - , ''Stepfather of the Bride'' , , Best Music for a Mini-Series or Telemovie , , , , , - , rowspan="2",

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, , ''Rare Sugar'' - The Australia Ensemble and Catherine McCorkill (clarinetist) , , Best Performance of an Australian Composition , , , , , - , ''Glass Soldier Suite'' – Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Geoffrey Payne (cornet), Jean-Louis Forestier (conductor) , , Orchestral Work of the Year , , , , , - , rowspan="2",

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, , rowspan="2", ''Missa Solis – Requiem for Eli'' (with Sydney Symphony Orchestra) , , Work of the Year – Orchestral , , , , , - , Performance of the Year , , , , , - ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, , , ''Compassion'' (with Lior & Sydney Symphony Orchestra) , , Work of the Year – Orchestral , , , , , -

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...

. They commenced in 1987. ! , - ,

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, ''Road to Xanadu - The Genius That Was China''
(with

Michael Askill Michael Askill is an Australian percussionist. He is a founding member of Synergy Percussion and Southern Crossings. He has been a principal with the Sydney and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras and the Australian Chamber Orchestra. Along with Ni ...

) , Best Original Soundtrack or Musical Theatre Cast Album , , ARIA Award previous winners. , - ,

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, ''Antarctica'' , Best Original Soundtrack or Musical Theatre Cast Album , , This nomination is not listed on the ARIA Award's website, but is in ARIA's March 1993 media release and list of nominees. , - ,

, ''Babe'' , Best Original Soundtrack or Musical Theatre Cast Album , , , - ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, ''Missa Solis: Requiem for Eli''
(with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra) , rowspan="2" , Best Classical Album , , rowspan="2" , ARIA Award previous winners. , - ,

, ''

Compassion Compassion motivates people to go out of their way to relieve the physical, mental or emotional pains of others and themselves. Compassion is often regarded as being sensitive to the emotional aspects of the suffering of others. When based on n ...

'' (with Lior and

Sydney Symphony Orchestra The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra that was initially formed in 1908. Since its opening in 1973, the Sydney Opera House has been its home concert hall. Simone Young is the orchestra's chief conductor and firs ...

) , , - ,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, ''Paper Planes – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack''
(with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra) , Best Original Soundtrack or Musical Theatre Cast Album , , , - ,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, '' Ali's Wedding (soundtrack)''
(with Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Lior,

Joseph Tawadros Joseph Tawadros (born 6 October 1983) is an Egyptian-born Coptic Australian multi-instrumentalist and oud virtuoso. Tawadros has won the ARIA Award for Best World Music Album five times: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2020. and 2021. Biography His famil ...

& Slava Grigoryan) , Best Original Soundtrack or Musical Theatre Cast Album , , , - ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, ''Nigel Westlake: Spirit of the Wild / Steve Reich: The Desert Music''
(with

Diana Doherty Diana Doherty is an Australian oboist, currently Principal Oboe with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Biography Diana Doherty was born in Brisbane, where she began her education. She attended Brisbane State High School. She studied both piano an ...

, Sydney Symphony Orchestra & David Robertson, Synergy Vocals) , Best Classical Album , , , -

Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards

* 2018 - Best Original Music - ''Ali's Wedding'' - Nominee * 2016 - Best Music - ''Paper Planes'' - Nominee * 1997 - Best Original Music - ''Babe'' - Won

International Film Music Critics Award (IFMCA)

* 2007 - Best Original Score for a Comedy Film - ''Miss Potter''

References

External links

* *
Rimshot MusicAir-Edel Associates
{{DEFAULTSORT:Westlake, Nigel 1958 births APRA Award winners ARIA Award winners Australian film score composers Living people Male film score composers Musicians from Perth, Western Australia Sydney Conservatorium of Music alumni