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Gemma Farrell wins Australian Women in Music Award

Monday, 04 November 2024

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  • Image of WAAPA jazz lecturer and PhD candidate Gemma Farrell

    Jazz saxophonist and composer Gemma Farrell, photo by Josie Nolan

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Congratulations to jazz saxophonist and composer Gemma Farrell, who has won the Warner Music Australia Humanitarian Award at the recent 2024 Australian Women in Music Awards (AWMA).

This award recognises an individual who has made a significant contribution in assisting female, non-binary or gender non-conforming artists working in regional communities.

Gemma, who is a lecturer in jazz and PhD candidate at WAAPA, leads the Gemma Farrell Quintet, the Artemis Orchestra and the West Australian Youth Jazz Orchestra’s Progressions, a program creating pathways into jazz music for female and non-binary musicians.

In August, Gemma also took out the WA State Luminary Award at this year’s APRA AMCOS Art Music Awards.

“The acknowledgement is very nice. The nominations alone, and then to win two awards, wow!” she says.

“The achievements aren’t mine alone however. I’m grateful to the staff at WAYJO and WAAPA for allowing me to do the work that I do, and I’m also grateful the members of the Artemis Orchestra, past and present, as well as my own support network that I’m very lucky to have.”

As the founder and musical director of the Artemis Orchestra, a predominantly female big band, Gemma continues to champion the original music of Australian women, non-binary, and transgender composers. The orchestra, which took out the 2022 WAM Jazz Song of the Year, has performed at prominent events such as the Perth International Jazz Festival, Lyric Lane Jazz Festival, and Fremantle Arts Centre’s Sunday Music program.

“My favourite thing about being a jazz musician is to play other people’s original music, it’s an honour to be asked to bring that to life,” she says.

Gemma is also the leader of the Gemma Farrell Quintet, and is a member of the collaborative project MFG, alongside Cologne-based guitarist Nico Maas and Zurich-based keyboardist Thomas Goralski.

To date, she has released nine albums as a leader, showcasing her prowess as both a performer and composer. She has also had the opportunity to play with internationally acclaimed musicians such as Chloe Rowlands, Mariel Bildsten and Sarah Hanahan.

Beyond her performance and recording achievements, Gemma has made significant contributions as an educator.

She has led the WAYJO Pathways Program, Progressions (formerly known as Young Women in Jazz) – an experience which she describes as one of the highlights of her career – since 2014.

In 2022, Gemma founded the Femme Composers Ensemble at WAAPA, a large ensemble dedicated to showcasing the music of people of marginalized genders. This ensemble evolved into the New Standards ensemble in 2024, continuing its mission of promoting diversity in jazz.

“I love helping students find their own sound,” she explains. “Especially when I teach the Progressions program, the difference between week one and week eight is huge. To think I might have influenced a small part of that is hugely rewarding.”

Hugely rewarding and, in a year of well-deserved accolades, now also nationally recognized.

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