Receiving the 2026 Springboard Award for Music gifted by Ensemble Ltd – Mentored by 2001 Laureate Dame Gaylene Preston

Jess Chambers is a multifaceted composer based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara working under the moniker Dream Chambers. Her work seeks to evoke the mystery, beauty and epic forces of the natural world using modular synthesizers and her voice. She performs and records both solo and within diverse ensemble configurations.

Born in Aotearoa to an American mother and a New Zealand father, Jess first gained recognition for her delicately orchestrated folk albums and her work with The Woolshed Sessions and Rhian Sheehan, among others, before evolving her practice toward electronics and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Jess is currently expanding her practice into composing for screen. Her feature film debut, the comedy-horror Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant, had its world premiere at Sundance 2026. This follows her television debut as co-composer, alongside Arli Liberman, on the BBC Scotland and Sky New Zealand six-part thriller series The Ridge.

Other recent highlights include presenting six original compositions with experimental classical ensemble Chatterbird in Nashville, TN and touring the United States performing a live score to the 1922 vampire film Nosferatu alongside Eve Maret and Belly Full of Stars. Beyond her creative work, Jess co-facilitates Techno Echo, a collective that hosts workshops and events in Te Whanganui-a-Tara for women, trans, and non-binary creators to build community and share knowledge around music technology.

Panel Statement: “Jess Chambers’s Springboard Award recognises the exceptional quality of her work, the boldness of her sonic experimentation, and the exciting evolution of her practice as she shifts from the intimacy of songwriting into electronic music and film scoring. Jess’s artistry, and the musical skills underpinning it, show deep commitment to her craft and an assured trajectory for artistic development. As she moves to break new ground in historically male-dominated fields, Jess will both grow as an artist and light the way for the next generation of creators.”