More Silver Scroll Finalists Announced

Some of New Zealand’s top-tier songwriters have snagged nominations for this year’s Silver Scroll Awards, the nation’s annual nod to the best songs of the year.

​The string of nominations announced on Wednesday included those in the running for the SOUNZ Contemporary Award, which celebrates excellence in contemporary composition, spanning innovative compositions to orchestral interpretations of classic poetry.

Nominees include Flo Wilson, a former sound engineer for RNZ turned composer and sound artist who is now based in Berlin. Dylan Lardelli was also nominated for 'Drift Aspect,' which was commissioned by Ensemble Musikfabrik, a renowned ensemble based in Germany.

Nominations for two other awards for original songs in film and TV series were also announced. Those nominees face the challenge of creating original music that further tells a story and supports the characters on screen.

Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper is nominated for his work on Plankton: The Movie, a musical comedy based on the well-known TV series SpongeBob Square Pants. Luke Di Somma scored a nomination for Happiness, a musical comedy TV series starring Rebecca Gibney.

​A list of the top 20 songs nominated for the awards was announced in July, including songs by Marlon Williams, Ladi6, and Unknown Mortal Orchestra. More nominations are due to be announced next week.

The 2025 APRA Silver Scroll Awards will take place on 29 October at the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch.

'Drift Aspect' by Dylan Lardelli

'In The Stars' by Flo Wilson

'or coral and foam' by Ihlara McIndoe, with text by Katherine Mansfield

'Wow Signal' by Chris Gendall

Luke Di Somma for Happiness

Stephen Gallagher and David Long* for Secrets at Red Rocks (*Concord Music Publishing)

Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper for The Gone Season 2

Claire Cowan for Jean Cocteau

Arli Liberman* and Tiki Taane for Ka Whawhai Tonu – Struggle Without End (*Heard and Seen Publishing)

Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper for Plankton: The Movie