A powerful celebration of the ocean, Mahāsāgar has earned composer Paul Stanhope his fifth APRA AMCOS Art Music Award – and a very special place in WASO’s recent history.
There are few things as vast, powerful, and mysterious as the ocean. It can inspire awe and wonder, while also reminding us of nature’s immense power. In Mahāsāgar, composer Paul Stanhope captures that extraordinary breadth of experience – and now the work has been recognised with the 2026 Art Music Award for Work of the Year: Choral.
Composed for the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and WASO Chorus, Mahāsāgar explores the ocean in all its complexity; its capacity for danger, sorrow, wonder and healing. The work also facilitated the creation of new poetry by Australian writers, including Koreng Wudjari Noongar poet Cass Lynch, bringing together voices that reflect on our profound relationship with the sea.
Premiered by WASO in August 2025, Mahāsāgar was commissioned for WASO by Catherine Dunn and members of the WASO Chorus, whose vision helped bring this ambitious new work to life. The performance brought together an enormous number of performers, including Principal Conductor Asher Fisch, WASO musicians, the WASO Chorus, soprano soloist Sara Macliver, tenor soloist Andrew Goodwin, and the Aquinas College Schola Cantorum.
For Stanhope, the award marks his fifth Art Music Award, adding another remarkable achievement to a distinguished career in Australian contemporary music. But for WASO, Mahāsāgar represents something equally important – the power of commissioning and performing ambitious new Australian music, and the extraordinary things that can happen when composers, musicians, and audiences come together to support new work.
The recognition at the 2026 Art Music Awards is a wonderful acknowledgement of everyone involved in bringing Mahāsāgar to the stage. From Stanhope’s composition, and the commissioning vision of Catherine Dunn and members of the WASO Chorus, to the musicians of WASO and WASO Chorus members who gave the work its voice, it is a true collective achievement.
And perhaps it is fitting that a work inspired by something so vast should continue to make waves!
Congratulations to Paul Stanhope, Catherine Dunn, the WASO Chorus and all the musicians and artists who brought Mahāsāgar to life.
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