APRA‘s Professional Development Awards for 2019 have gone to Brooke Singer, Delaney Davidson, Jamie McDell, Reuben Jelleyman and Maxwell Stone.

The PDA awards are worth $10k and are given annually to NZ songwriters and composers as an aid to ongoing career development. An anonymous industry panel judged applicants by creativity, skill, motivation, passion, discipline and their ability to be organised.

According to APRA NZ, the calibre of applications this year was so high that it was decided that five awards would be made instead of the usual three.

The PDA funding will allow multi-disciplinary artist Delaney Davidson to travel to the US to further his production skills, develop his songwriting and build connections. Similarly, French For Rabbit‘s Brooke Singer is planning to pursue co-writing opportunities in Los Angeles, New York and Melbourne. Composer Maxwell Stone is also looking at LA, with an opportunity to take up a mentorship opportunity with Tim Williams and Tyler Bates to gain further experience in the film music sector. Currently based in Toronto, Jamie McDell will use her money to travel across North America, pursuing songwriting collabs with some big hitters in the US country world. Reuben Jelleyman gets an aid in taking a place at one of the most resource-rich and well-connected conservatories in the world, the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, where he will study for two years.