# Nigel Westlake

Nigel Westlake (born 6 September 1958) 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, Miss Potter, Babe, Babe: Pig in the City, Children of the Revolution and The Nugget. He also composed the theme for SBS World News.

## Biography

Westlake was born in Sydney, the son of Sydney Symphony Orchestra principal clarinettist Donald Westlake.
Westlake studied the clarinet with his father 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, and went on to join guitarist John Williams' group Attacca.
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, at age 21. 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 (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)
* The Nugget (2002)
* Horseplay (2003)
* Hell Has Harbour Views (2005)
* Miss Potter (2006)
* Stepfather of the Bride (2006)
* Paper Planes (2015)
* Ali's Wedding (and soundtrack) (2017)
* Blueback (2022)

## 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

### AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
| 2023 | Blueback (Original Motion Picture Score) (with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Benjamin Northey) | Best Independent Classical Album or EP | Nominated | |

### APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are held in Australia and New Zealand by the Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
| 1992 | "Refractions at Summer Cloud Bay" | Contemporary Classical Composition of the Year | Won |
| 1996 | Babe | Best Film Score | Won |
| 1998 | The Edge | Most Performed Classical Work | Won |
| 1998 | Songs from the Forest | Most Performed Classical Work | Nominated |
| 1999 | Babe: Pig in the City | Best Film Score | Nominated |
| 1999 | "Laikan" (Australia Ensemble) | Most Performed Contemporary Classical Composition | Won |
| 2003 | Horse Play | Best Feature Film Score | Nominated |
| 2003 | The Nugget | Best Feature Film Score | Won |
| 2005 | Piano Concerto – Michael Kieran Harvey | Best Performance of an Australian Composition | Nominated |
| 2005 | Six Fish – Saffire Guitar Quartet | Instrumental Work of the Year | Won |
| 2005 | Crystal Spheres – Solarmax film orchestra | Orchestral Work of the Year | Nominated |
| 2005 | Hell Has Harbour Views | Best Music for a Mini-Series or Telemovie | Won |
| 2007 | When the Clock Strikes Me - Rebecca Lagos (soloist), Sydney Symphony | Best Performance of an Australian Composition | Won |
| 2007 | Miss Potter | Feature Film Score of the Year | Won |
| 2007 | Miss Potter | Best Soundtrack Album | Won |
| 2007 | Stepfather of the Bride | Best Music for a Mini-Series or Telemovie | Won |
| 2008 | Rare Sugar - The Australia Ensemble and Catherine McCorkill (clarinetist) | Best Performance of an Australian Composition | Won |
| 2008 | Glass Soldier Suite – Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Geoffrey Payne (cornet), Jean-Louis Forestier (conductor) | Orchestral Work of the Year | Nominated |
| 2012 | Missa Solis – Requiem for Eli (with Sydney Symphony Orchestra) | Work of the Year – Orchestral | Won |
| 2012 | Missa Solis – Requiem for Eli (with Sydney Symphony Orchestra) | Performance of the Year | Nominated |
| 2014 | Compassion (with Lior & Sydney Symphony Orchestra) | Work of the Year – Orchestral | Nominated |

### ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
| 1991 | Road to Xanadu - The Genius That Was China (with Michael Askill) | Best Original Soundtrack or Musical Theatre Cast Album | Nominated |
| 1993 | Antarctica | Best Original Soundtrack or Musical Theatre Cast Album | Nominated |
| 1996 | Babe | Best Original Soundtrack or Musical Theatre Cast Album | Nominated |
| 2013 | Missa Solis: Requiem for Eli (with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra) | Best Classical Album | Nominated |
| 2014 | Compassion (with Lior and Sydney Symphony Orchestra) | Best Classical Album | Won |
| 2015 | Paper Planes – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra) | Best Original Soundtrack or Musical Theatre Cast Album | Nominated |
| 2017 | Ali's Wedding (soundtrack) (with Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Lior, Joseph Tawadros & Slava Grigoryan) | Best Original Soundtrack or Musical Theatre Cast Album | Won |
| 2019 | Nigel Westlake: Spirit of the Wild / Steve Reich: The Desert Music (with Diana Doherty, Sydney Symphony Orchestra & David Robertson, Synergy Vocals) | Best Classical Album | Nominated |
| 2023 | Blueback – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Benjamin Northey) | Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album | Nominated |

### 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