The NFSA recognises 62 years of work in the recording industry
The National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) is pleased to announce the 2011 recipient of the NFSA Cochrane-Smith Award for Sound Heritage is Bill Armstrong, founder of Armstrong Studios.
The Award recognises the importance of sound heritage by celebrating the achievements of a person who has made a substantial contribution to the preservation, survival and recognition of sound heritage, and will be presented by NFSA Chair Chris Puplick AM, at 10.30am, in The Famous Spiegeltent, The Arts Centre, Melbourne.
Bill Armstrong’s career as a professional producer and recording engineer spans 61 years, beginning in the 1950s when Bill was making some of Australia’s earliest location recordings of live jazz concerts. He established Armstrong Studios in 1965 which became the largest audio complex in the southern hemisphere, and the engine room of Australian music in the ’60s and ’70s. Armstrong Studios featured the latest state-of-the-art technology including the first eight-track recorder in Australia, and was responsible for producing hit records for the major labels and emerging independent record companies.
“After wide-ranging consultation with staff and industry experts, Bill Armstrong emerged as the clear winner,” said Matt Davies, the NFSA’s Senior Curator of Sound, Broadcast and New Media.
“Bill broke new ground, set new standards and has played an integral role in the evolution of Australian recorded music over the past six decades — and he is still going strong. He has been a tireless contributor to Australian music and the arts, is well respected in the industry, and is richly deserving of this honour.”
Bill’s accolades include: an ARIA for Lifetime Contribution to the Australian Music Industry (1999); winner of the APRA 2006 Ted Albert Award for Oustanding Services to Australian Music; the Advance Australia Award for Outstanding Contribution in Industry and Commerce (1995); the Melbourne Music Festival 'Hall Of Fame’ for his valuable contribution to the Australian music industry (1995); and the Audio Engineering Society (AES) (Australian chapter) award for achievement in sound recording (1995).
“Through this award the NFSA aims to celebrate sound culture in Australia and the work of the sound industry,” said Ann Landrigan, Acting CEO, NFSA.
“The NFSA is very pleased to be able to recognise Bill’s lifetime of work. This includes his most recent contribution to documenting the industry, which has involved the undertaking of oral history interviews with key industry players, as part of the NFSA’s oral history program, and the re-mastering and re-releasing of seminal Australian recordings on his Bilarm label.”
Editors’ Notes | NFSA Cochrane-Smith Award for Sound Heritage
The NFSA Cochrane-Smith Award for Sound Heritage recognises the importance of sound heritage by celebrating the achievements of a person who has made a substantial contribution to the preservation, survival and recognition of sound heritage.
This contribution can take a number of different forms, such as a contribution to greater public recognition of the value of sound heritage; research into, commercial presentation and/or publication of sound heritage; technical innovation supporting the preservation and dissemination of sound heritage; artistic achievement drawing on or informed by sound heritage; or advocacy, sponsorship and/or fundraising in support of sound heritage.
This Award is named after Fanny Cochrane-Smith, an Indigenous Tasmanian woman who recorded songs and stories in 1899 and again in 1903, as part of her lifelong dedication to preserving the culture of her people. The importance of these recordings is recognised by their inclusion on the NFSA’s Sounds of Australia registry of recorded sound.
Sounds of Australia was launched in 2007 with the announcement of 10 foundation sounds for the registry. Each year, the Australian public nominates new sounds to be added with final selections determined by a panel of industry experts.
For more information or to nominate a sound visit the NFSA’s Sounds of Australia registry
Bill Armstrong | Winner of the 2011 NFSA Cochrane-Smith Award for Sound Heritage
Bill Armstrong started recording professionally in 1949. His career in the recording industry has included jobs such as a record producer, recording engineer for W & G Records, co-founder of EON FM in Melbourne, owner of Armstrong Audio Visual Studios Melbourne, and co-owner of Metropolis Studios in Melbourne. He also has music label Bilarm Music Pty Ltd, established in 1992, and he continues to work on ‘The Bill Armstrong Collection’.
Bill’s work has included the recording of: soundtracks for Australian movies and TV serials; weddings; conferences; county court proceedings; private functions; official occasions such as the opening of the Shell refinery in Geelong by Sir Robert Menzies; the first recording (wire) in the Victorian law courts for Mr Phillip Opas QC for transcript purposes; the recording of the Red Dean Of Canterbury conferences for transcribing purposes; and a funeral for the Baillieu family where Sir Robert Menzies did the eulogy. He also worked as the sound operator for the Opening and Closing ceremonies of the 1956 Olympic Games.
As the Music Producer at ABC Radio Melbourne (3LO and 3AR) in 1953/4, Bill produced direct-to-air and recorded programs including jazz bands (Graeme Bell, Frank Johnson and Len Barnard); light music programs (Arthur Young and Marjory Stedeford); the ABC Dance Band variety shows; the Victorian Symphony Orchestra broadcasts from the Melbourne Town Hall; and various chamber ensembles.
Bill is currently combining recordings by Swaggie Records and Bilarm Music into a new series of unreleased masters of Australian Jazz. He is also working on releasing live recordings made in Melbourne of Cleo Laine, Stephan Grappelli, Don Burrows and Barry Humphries.
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