This is the house that Peggy built…
The full video CAN BE VIEWEd on our History page.
Peggy Glanville-Hicks
The Australian composer, Peggy Glanville-Hicks (1912 - 1990) gifted her house in central Sydney to the nation as a residence for Australian composers. She lived in the house from 1976 to 1990 and it still holds a number of artefacts from that period.
“It is apparent that leisure and silence are absolute prerequisites for composers if they are to engage fully the many forms of awareness involved in creative activity.
This leisure and silence have become the greatest luxuries in the modern world, and composers less than any other group in art or science are able to command it.”
- Peggy Glanville-Hicks
The Prelude Project
A national network of annual residencies
Prelude is a national network of year-long residencies for Australian composers, for which they also receive a modest stipend plus the time and space to create new work.
The partners behind these residencies are the Peggy Glanville-Hicks Composers House and National Trust of WA, with funding support from the Australia Council for the Arts, Create NSW and APRA AMCOS, enabling a national composer-in-residence program.
Applications for the 2026 residency will open in mid-2025.
ENQUIRIES to pghcomposershouse@gmail.com or peggyhouseprogram@gmail.com
The Prelude Program
The aim of Prelude is to support Australian composers by offering them long-term residencies in properties owned by either private trusts or National Trusts around the country.
Those who come into residence are not obliged to predetermine the outcome of their residency. While we are interested in your projects, Prelude encourages you to respond to the experience of this new environment as you see fit. Artists will be made to feel welcomed and cared for. You will be contacted well in advance of your arrival to ensure your expectations match what is available.
We offer the Prelude residencies through an annual open call. Australian composers in all musical genres and practices are encouraged to apply via our online application system. We encourage you to submit video clips, music files and any documentation you feel relevant to your application.
Competition for the residencies is fierce and selection carefully managed. Applications will be assessed by industry peers and results announced in September.
Current Residencies OFFERED
Gallop House
(Western Australia)
Peggy Glanville-Hicks House
(New South Wales)
“Being able to live at the Peggy House has been the most remarkable creative catalyst for me. I have been able to work with focus and have been able to produce some of my best work to date as a result. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity.”
Ngaiire, PNG Australian composer/performer. Peggy House Resident 2019
“In a year when so many musicians lost all their work overnight, this was a truly unique and special time be in the Peggy House. I was so fortunate to have the space – not only physical but also spiritually – to work, compose, connect with those past and present ...
William Barton, multi-instrumentalist/composer. Peggy House Resident 2020
”To be gifted the time, space and financial relief was especially beneficial and timely when Covid 19 hit. While this meant much of my work and residency plans were cancelled or postponed, it afforded a moment to create work that otherwise wouldn’t have had a chance to be made.”
Rachael Dease, composer/performer. Gallop House WA Resident 2020
“Time and space give you the platform from which to make ambitious projects happen, and it's a really significant opportunity to give to an artist. I'm very grateful for the foresight and generosity that have made this unique program a reality.”
William Gardiner, composer. Beaumont Cottage Adelaide 2019
Apply for the Prelude Program
The aim of Prelude is to support Australian composers by offering them long-term residencies in properties owned by either private trusts or National Trusts around the country.
Applications close: 5pm, 31 July, 2026
Notification of decisions: September 18, 2026
Residency timing: January 2027 - December 2027
About the opportunity
The Prelude program supports Australian composers by offering them long-term residencies in properties owned by private trusts or National Trusts around the country.
In addition to living rent-free for 11 months, residents are provided with a stipend to help with living costs.
Australian composers in all musical genres and practices are encouraged to apply.
Competition for the residencies is fierce and selection is carefully managed.
Applications will be assessed by industry peers and the results will be announced in September.
Who can apply
Applications are invited from composers of all styles of music at any stage in their career.
Applications from First Nations composers are particularly encouraged.
Contact Us
If you need help with your application, email pghcomposershouse@gmail.com
Assessment criteria
Applications will be assessed on the following criteria:
1. Artistic merit
Tell us about
the work you have previously produced
the public or peer response to your work
your artistic ambitions
2. Impact on career
What do you hope to do or achieve through the residency ?
Why is this a good time for you to do the residency ?
Support material
1. Artistic support material:
Please submit up to three URLs providing audio or audiovisual examples of your recent work.
The industry advisors may review up to 10 minutes of video or audio recording.
2. Bio
Please submit one URL linking to your career biography
3. Letters of support or confirmation:
Please submit one URL providing up to five letters of support or confirmation, with each letter not exceeding one A4 page.
Individuals, groups or organisations can write letters confirming participation in a proposed project or more genrally in support of your application, by addressing the quality of your practice.
Application Form
All supporting documents are to be uploaded to a cloud folder such as Google Drive, DropBox or OneDrive. Please make sure permissions are set so that anyone can view/download the file and passwords are turned off.