By Kathy Grant, Manager – Performance Verification, <strong>APRA</strong> Catherine Britt took the first steps from her home town of Newcastle, NSW to Nashville, Tennessee at the age of 11, when her parents took her to see The Dead Ringer B<strong>and</strong>, featuring Bill Chambers <strong>and</strong> his ‘star in the making’ daughter, <strong>Kasey</strong>. During the concert, Catherine requested the Jimmie Rodgers song T.B Blues. An unusual choice for an 11 year old – more unusual still, Bill Chambers insisted Catherine get up on stage to sing it with him – <strong>and</strong> the rest is history. In 2001, after touring Australia <strong>and</strong> co-writing the hit That Don’t Bother Me with <strong>Kasey</strong> Chambers, Catherine released her first full length CD. The Bill Chambersproduced Dusty Smiles <strong>and</strong> Heartbreak Cures started its life as an indie release, before being picked up by ABC Records <strong>and</strong> re-released a year later. As fate would have it Dusty Smiles <strong>and</strong> Heartbreak Cures caught the eye of Elton John who bought the disc during a retail therapy break, amid his whirlwind Australian tour in 2002. Sir Elton was so impressed he set up a meeting with Catherine <strong>and</strong> facilitated contacts for her in the Hollywood of country music: Nashville, Tennessee. Catherine signed a deal with powerful US label RCA, the No 1 record company in Nashville, <strong>and</strong> began travelling back <strong>and</strong> forth between Australia <strong>and</strong> the US, writing new material, honing her talent <strong>and</strong> finding her way around the industry. Early 2004 – <strong>and</strong> 19 year old Catherine was ready to begin recording her first international album. In keeping with her determination to stay grounded <strong>and</strong> close to her origins, Bill Chambers was on h<strong>and</strong> to coproduce. The trips back home to Newcastle became less frequent with Catherine spending most of 2004 based in Nashville, recording the album. Titled Too Far Gone the album takes its name from one of the tracks Catherine wrote about missing her family <strong>and</strong> is filled with images of home. The first single from the album is the radio-friendly Upside of Being Down. Prior to the US release of the single, Catherine set out on an exhaustive promotional tour taking in almost 60 cities, visiting radio stations by day, doing gigs at night <strong>and</strong> squeezing in countless industry showcases. By August 2004, Upside of Being Down had entered the Billboard Hot Country Singles Chart at 57 <strong>and</strong> by October had cracked the top 40, ultimately peaking at 36 in this extremely competitive market. The video clip for the single, shot at the famous Tootsies Orchid Lounge in Nashville, premiered on Country Music Television on 2 December 2004, with Catherine being invited into the studio for the first airing – a privilege usually reserved for established artists. The follow up single in the USA looks like being the duet Where We Both Say Goodbye which Catherine co-wrote with Jerry Salley <strong>and</strong> recorded with Elton John. There’s also interest from the UK, with a BBC crew travelling to Nashville to do a story, talks in progress regarding performances in Engl<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> Irel<strong>and</strong> later in 2005, plus a barrage of magazine interviews. In March Catherine will be performing a tribute to country music icon, Dolly Parton, for the US Country Radio Broadcasters, who will be honouring Parton with a career achievement award for her enduring influence on country radio. In her biography Catherine says Dolly Parton had a huge influence on her as she was growing up – she also ranks Hank Williams senior as her all time favourite singer songwriter, <strong>and</strong> even sports a tattoo of Hank on her thigh, apparently it’s a permanent lucky charm that’s never let her down! ‘Traditional – in a contemporary sort of way’ is how Catherine’s work has been described <strong>and</strong> it seems that, in Catherine Britt, Australian country has found another international voice that is sure to help pave the way for other talented Australian Country artists in the future. Melbourne’s premier classical music radio station is inviting composers from around the country to put pen to paper <strong>and</strong> send in orchestral scores for the 2005 3MBS National Composer Awards. The Awards offer composers a chance to share in $8000 prize money <strong>and</strong> to have their music heard. The unique award has been developed by 3MBS in association with Orchestra Victoria, Betty Amsden OAM <strong>and</strong> <strong>APRA</strong> to promote <strong>and</strong> nurture Australian composers <strong>and</strong> showcase their orchestral works. The $6000 Betty Amsden Award is offered for the winning entry <strong>and</strong>, an additional $2000 will be awarded to a composer for the <strong>APRA</strong> Encouragement Award. Entry is open to Australian residents of all ages <strong>and</strong> the judges are looking for scores not previously performed in public. Last year’s winning composer James Ledger, from Perth, was delighted with the opportunity to have his original piece performed by Orchestra Victoria at the Melbourne Concert Hall. The prize money has enabled James to continue developing new compositions for future release. Starting as a Victorian-based competition in 2000, the Award is now a national event, <strong>and</strong> has so far received over 240 composition entries during its first five years. Entries are now being accepted for the 2005 Award, <strong>and</strong> event organizer Adrian Basso is anticipating an enthusiastic response. “3MBS is dedicated to supporting emerging artists, <strong>and</strong> we are delighted to offer our talented composers the opportunity to have their music performed by a skilled <strong>and</strong> professional orchestra in a gr<strong>and</strong> concert venue to an appreciative audience. What could be better?” 3MBS FM calls upon the talents of accomplished industry professionals to judge the entries. Judges include composer/ conductor Richard Mills AM <strong>and</strong> conductor Richard Divall OBE. The winning composition will be performed in a spectacular concert presentation by Orchestra Victoria on the 14th July 2005 at the Hamer Hall (Melbourne, Victoria) conducted by the internationally renowned Johannes Fritzsch. The performance will then be broadcast on the national MBS radio network. Closing date for entries in the 2005 3MBS National Composer Awards is Friday 29th April 2005 at 5pm. For further information please visit the 3MBS FM website: www.3mbs.org.au <strong>and</strong> for entry forms <strong>and</strong> competition conditions please contact Jacki Guttmann at 3MBS phone 03 9816 9355 or email fundraising@3mbs.org.au music for Believing By Monika Szubert, Licensing Officer, <strong>APRA</strong> The US – traditionally a large <strong>and</strong> competitive market for Christian music – is embracing Australian Christian music like never before. Recently, <strong>APRA</strong> member Roma Waterman won the 2004 - USA Contemporary Christian Music Network International Talent search. Roma Waterman is one of the most played artists on Australian Christian radio with lots of popular <strong>songs</strong> like More than Ice-cream; All About You, Favourite Things, If You Believe <strong>and</strong> Lifting Me Up recently released from her fourth CD. (For more information, visit www.romawaterman.com). Since winning the USA Talent search, Roma has been sought after by Christian music reps in Nashville. Roma has been singing in church since she was about eight. “Christian music was not really an industry back then,” she says, “but by the time I reached my teens, there was little hub of things happening around Australia. I honestly just fell into recording a low budget record <strong>and</strong> releasing it, as there started to be dem<strong>and</strong> for my music at the churches I was singing at. That led to being asked to sing at festivals <strong>and</strong> touring as a support artist for US b<strong>and</strong>s like DC Talk, Newsboys, David Meece <strong>and</strong> Margaret Becker. Because they pulled large crowds, I was suddenly catapulted to a wider audience, which meant we started to receive national interest, <strong>and</strong> then interest from labels in the USA. So, it’s been fun!”. A P R A P M A R C H 2 0 0 5 > > 0 4 >> Roma Waterman