The AMF Guy Parsons Award
The AMF Australia Foundation receives generous support from a number of individuals and trusts, including the Portland House Foundation, which has enabled the establishment of the AMF Guy Parsons Award in honour of one of the AMF’s founding Trustees.
Guy Parsons OBE, 4th from left, with 2015 AMF Awardees and Mr Andrew Todd, then Deputy High Commissioner to the UK
Guy Parsons was a founding member of the Australian Music Foundation and was actively involved in the organisation’s growth, including many distinguished years as the Foundation’s Treasurer. The Portland House Foundation’s generous donation has enabled the AMF to establish the ‘Guy Parsons Award’, and thereby to recognise Mr Parsons’ singular contribution to the AMF in enabling it to meet its charitable aims. In November 2015 Guy Parsons was made a Life President of the AMF in recognition of his services, and was recently awarded the OBE. We are very sad to announce that Mr Parsons passed away in September 2019. The award will continue in his memory.
2019 Guy Parsons Awardee
The 2019 Guy Parsons Award is supporting euphonium player James Blackford in his MMus at the RNCM in Manchester.
2018 Guy Parsons Awardee
The 2018 Guy Parsons Award supported violinist Courtenay Cleary in her MMus studies at the Juilliard School in New York.
2017 Guy Parsons Awardee
The 2017 Guy Parsons Award supported cellist Waynne Kwon in the final year of his BMus at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Since becoming an AMF Awardee in 2016, Waynne has been awarded the RNCM Sir John Barbirolli Cello Prize and, as the prize-winner of the RNCM Concerto Competition, he performed with the RNCM Symphony Orchestra in Bridgewater Hall in June 2018. He has also been accepted into the Professional Engagements Scheme with the BBC Philharmonic and won an RNCM Gold Medal on completing his BMus. He is now studying for his MMus. CLICK for video of Waynne performing at the AMF Finals at Wigmore Hall.
Jesse Flowers with his new instrument from luthier Antonius Müller.
2016 Guy Parsons Awardee
The 2016 Guy Parsons award supported guitarist Jesse Flowers in his studies for a Masters degree at the Akademie for Tonkunst in Darmstadt, Germany. The award has also enabled him to purchase a new instrument made by luthier Antonius Müller.
Jesse won first prize at the Internationalen Gitarrenwettbewerb Nürtingen and will participate in a series of concerts in the Bundesauswahl Konzerte Junger Künstler's 2017/18 season.
To watch a video of Jesse performing at the AMF Finals at Wigmore Hall in 2016, please click HERE
There was no award in 2015
2014 Guy Parsons Awardee
The 2014 Guy Parsons Award supported violinist Emily Sun, in her studies for a Masters of Music degree at the Royal College of Music. Emily was born in Sydney and has won all the major violin competitions in Australia and all available prizes at the RCM. She is widely recognised in Australia following the release of the award-winning documentary 'Mrs Carey's Concert'. In 2016, Emily won the Gold Medal at the Royal Overseas League Competition at Cadogan Hall in London. CLICK for video.
2013 Guy Parsons Awardee
The 2013 Guy Parsons Award supported young Violinist Suyeon Kang, who used her award to study for a masters at the Hochschule für Musik Berlin 'Hanns Eisler', under the tutelage of Professor Antje Weithaas. Prior to commencing her studies in Germany, Suyeon won Australia's most prestigious award: the Symphony Australia Young Performer's Award in 2005 at the age of sixteen.
2012 Guy Parsons Awardee
In 2012, the Guy Parsons Award supported Brisbane Tenor Dominic Walsh, who began his Masters in Vocal Performance at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London in September 2012. He completed three years with Opera Queensland’s Developing Artist Programme (2010) and the Young Artist Programme (2011and 2012), with performance roles as Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte and Nanki-Poo in The Mikado (working with distinguished Australian director, Stuart Maunder).