The AMF Guy Parsons Award has enabled recipient Jesse Flowers to purchase a new instrument by world-renowned guitar luthier Antonius Müller, one of the leading exponents of the ‘Double-top’ guitar design. He is well known for producing instruments with plenty of volume and fullness, without compromising their range of tone colour and beauty of sound. Since the guitar is a very intimate and quiet instrument, it is vital to have a guitar that can carry right to the back of a concert hall.
Originally from Sydney, Jesse completed his Bachelor of Music at the Australian National University in Canberra in November 2014. Since then, he has been studying with Tilman Hoppstock at the Akademie für Tonkunst Darmstadt, Germany, where he has won several competitions and will be taking part in the ‘National Concerts for Young Artists of Germany’ 2017/18 season.
In March Jesse will give a solo recital in Sundsvall, Sweden and a concert in Mannheim, Germany with cellist Wolfgang Boettcher, who was 15 years principal cellist with the Berliner Philarmoniker (and also Jesse's great uncle).
Samantha Crawford wins Wagner Prize
Many congratulations to AMF Alumna, soprano Samantha Crawford, who has won two prizes at the 2016 Wagner Society Singing Competition: the First Prize awarded by Sir John Tomlinson and the President's Prize from Dame Gwyneth Jones. She has also been awarded a place on the Bayreuth scholarship programme from the Richard Wagner Scholarship Foundation, which will allow her to spend a week in Bayreuth as a scholar, attending Wagner operas and masterclasses.
AMF 2016 Awardees announced
Following the Finals of the AMF Awards on 6 October at Wigmore Hall, London, the Chairman and Trustees are delighted to announce that nine young musicians have been chosen as recipients of scholarships this year, With many thanks to our distinguished panel of judges: Piers Lane, piano; Benjamin Hughes, cello; John Anderson, oboe; Professor Raymond Holden (RAM), Linnhe Robertson (GSMD), Professor Peter Tregear (Chair AMF Australia) and non-voting Chairman of the Panel, Yvonne Kenny AM (Chair AMF UK).
The AMF 2016 Awardees
Justin Sun (Canberra) - bassoon - age 22 - MMus RCM - AMF Nora Goodridge Emerging Artist Award
Jesse Flowers (Sydney) - guitar - age 22 - Künstlerische Aufbaustudium, Darmstadt - AMF Guy Parsons Award
Daniel Mullaney (Perth) - tenor - age 25 - Advanced Certificate, Opera, GSMD - AMF Nora Goodridge Developing Artist Award
Jade Moffat (Brisbane) - mezzo soprano - age 27 - MMus, GSMD Opera Course - AMF Nora Goodridge Developing Artist Award
James Guan (Sydney) - piano - age 25 - MMus, RAM - AMF Award
Shanie Klas (Melbourne) - percussion - age 24 - Masters, Northwestern University, Evanston, USA - AMF Award
Waynne Kwon (Sydney) - cello - age 20 - BMus Hons, RNCM - AMF Award
Oscar Jiang (Victoria) - piano - age 18 - BMus, Juilliard, USA - AMF Award
James Yan (Illawarra, NSW) - composer - age 22 - MMus RCM - AMF UK Trustees Award
2015 Awardees perform at Sunday in the Apartment
AMF Awardees Emily Sun (violin) and Andrey Lebedev (guitar) performed together as a duo at Sunday in the Apartment on 11 September, at the Rah Rah Room, Piccadilly. Their programme included:
Claude Debussy: Clair de Lune from Suite Bergamasque, arranged by Andrey Lebedev
Manuel de Falla: Canciones Populares Españolas, 1. El Paño moruno, 2. Il Jota
Photo credit: Peter Livingstone Photography
There was also an appearance by AMF Alumnus, singer Russell Harcourt.
Sunday in the Apartment, run by Australian Business, is a showcase of Australian talent, based in London, and is a light-hearted afternoon entertainment, part chat-show, part cabaret. The next show will be on 27 November. More information:
http://www.sundayintheapartment.com/
Emily Sun and Yvonne Kenny at the ROSL Grand Final
AMF Chairman Yvonne Kenny, pictured with AMF Awardee, violinist Emily Sun, who won the Gold Medal at the 2016 Royal Overseas League Grand Final at Cadogan Hall on 1 June.
Lauren Fagan to appear in Last Night of the Proms
All best wishes, to current AMF Awardee, soprano Lauren Fagan, who will be appearing as a soloist in Vaughan Williams' Serenade to Music at the Last Night of the Proms on 10 September.
AMF Welcomes new Trustee, Dr Margaret Mayston AM
The AMF welcomes a new Trustee, Dr Margaret Mayston AM, who is a leading researcher, therapist and lecturer in the field of neurosciences.
She was named the 2010 Australian Woman of the Year in the UK, for her ongoing work helping children and families deal with Cerebral Palsy.
Dr Mayston was recognised in the Australia Day honours in 2009 and is a recipient of the prestigious Schafter Award in Physiology.
The AMF is very grateful for Dr Mayston's support and looks forward to working with her on future projects to assist more talented young Australian musicians in their studies overseas.
Life President, Guy Parsons awarded OBE
The AMF is delighted to announce that founding trustee, long-serving Treasurer and now Life President, Guy Parsons, has been awarded the OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours, for his services to business and charity.
Mr Parsons was a senior partner at auditing firm KPMG, where he was appointed liquidator for many companies and undertook overseas projects for the Government.
In addition to his work with the AMF, he also set up and is a trustee of The Lynn Foundation, a charity which annually makes some 500 grants to help people with disabilities.
The AMF would like to congratulate Mr Parsons on receiving this honour in recognition of his wonderful work for charity, and to thank him for his support of young Australian musicians over the last 40 years.
Photo credit: Steve Robards
2016 AMF Finalists Announced
The live Finals of the AMF Awards will take place at the Wigmore Hall, London, on the morning of Thursday 6 October. All are invited to this free event in the AMF calendar, to support these talented young artists as they compete for scholarships to support their studies in the UK, Europe or the USA. If you would like to attend, please contact sas@australianmusicfoundation.org
AMF Finalists 2016
Justin Sun - Bassoon
Waynne Kwon - Cello
Seong Sin Lee - Cello
Sam Lucas - Cello
Oscar Jiang - Piano
Sonya Pigot - Piano
James Guan - Piano
Sabina Im - Piano
Jesse Flowers - Guitar
Shanie Klas - Percussion
Rebecca Gulinello - Soprano
Jade Moffat - Mezzo-Soprano
Daniel Mullaney - Tenor
James Yan - Composer
AMF Awardee, violinist Emily Sun, wins Gold Medal at Royal Overseas League
The AMF is delighted to announce that current awardee Emily Sun has won the Gold Medal at the Grand Final of the Royal Overseas League Competition in London on 1 June, playing Debussy's Violin Sonata in G minor and Wieniawski's Fantasie Brilliant sur des motifs de l'opera Faust de Gounod.
Emily told AMF: "I am incredibly honored and thrilled to be awarded the Gold Medal and 1st Prize in the 2016 Royal OverSeas League Music Competition in the UK. This competition hails competitors from all Commonwealth countries and I am very excited to have represented Australia. This award is especially important to me as I am the only violinist to have won the Gold Medal since 1981.
This could not have been possible without the support of the Australian Music Foundation who have sponsored me through years of study at the Royal College of Music in London. Without the help from this thriving foundation it would be impossible for young Australian musicians to pursue our careers abroad. I am eternally grateful for all the support I have received from Australia. "
The AMF is extremely proud of her achievement and wishes Emily every success in her career.
Watch videos of Emily performing on the AMF Current Awardees page .
AMF Supports Launch of new Creative Professionals Network
The AMF is proud to support the new Creative Professionals Network Australia, instigated by AMF alumna, soprano Samantha Crawford, and Emma Cullen of Cullen Wines. AMF Chairman, Yvonne Kenny AM, attended the launch at Australia House on Tuesday, 10 May, which included performances by Samantha, and fellow AMF alumna, soprano Sky Ingram.
The CPN Australia's mission is to 'connect young Australian and British people working in the arts, business, services and government agencies, to provide them with new experiences. We want to build friendships across these industries, offering professional development opportunities while they are living in the UK.’
For more information and updates: www.facebook.com/CPNAustralia
"AMF is proud to support this new joint initiative. We think it is a wonderful idea to start building connections with the next generation of potential music lovers. We wish Emma and Samantha a great success." Yvonne Kenny AM
Photograph by James Gifford Mead shows Yvonne Kenny AM, Emma Cullen, Samantha Crawford, Deborah and Andrew Todd (Deputy High Commissioner to the UK).
Soprano Alexandra Flood gains place at the Wolf Trap Summer Opera Festival
AMF Awardee Alexandra Flood has won a place as one of only 12 young singers out of 1,300 applicants, to appear at the Wolf Trap Summer Opera Festival in Virginia this year. She recently performed the role of Blondchen in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Vorarlberger Landestheater, Bergen, Austria.
Lauren Fagan to make her debut with WNO
Congratulations to current AMF Awardee, soprano Lauren Fagan, who will make her debut with Welsh National Opera as Musetta in La Bohème next season.
AMF Awardee Videos now live on the website
Visit the About Us/Current Awardees page to watch videos of some of the 2015 Awardees performing at the Wigmore Hall, London, last October. Video and audio recorded by Simon Vout at Orientis Recording Services: orientis.info@blueyonder.co.uk/+44 (0)20 8286 8320
AMF Finals, 6 October 2016 at the Wigmore Hall
The AMF is pleased to announce that the Finals of the 2016 Awards will take place at the Wigmore Hall, London, on the morning of Thursday 6 October. More details to follow.
Andrey Lebedev to perform in Australian Music and the Classical Guitar at the RAM on 2 March 2016
2015 AMF Awardee Andrey Lebedev will be performing in a unique evening devoted to "Australian Music and the Classical Guitar” at the Royal Academy of Music on Wednesday 2nd March at 7:30pm in the Duke’s Hall.
At 6:15pm there will be a pre-concert discussion, with Australian-born classical guitarist John Williams and Dr. Raymond Holden, in the David Josefowitz Recital Hall.
The programme showcases a breadth of solo, chamber, and orchestral music from Australia featuring the classical guitar. Originally conceived as a homage to the late Peter Sculthorpe, the programme is bookended by the composer’s exquisite evocations of Kakadu National Park and Nourlangie, and includes works by Ross Edwards, Phillip Houghton, Nigel Westlake and Brett Dean, whose Gertrude Fragments for mezzo-soprano and guitar will be receiving its World Premiere.
More details of the programme can be found at http://www.ram.ac.uk/whats-on/event/australian-music-and-the-classical-guitar-
Andrey will be performing alongside exceptional Academy musicians from Australia and abroad including Joseph Havlat, Lotte Betts-Dean, the Ardour Quartet and Joseph Prindl, and will be accompanied in the final item by the Academy String Orchestra conducted by Jo Cole (RAM Head of Strings)
Emily Sun, Winner of Royal Overseas League Competition String Section
The AMF is delighted to announce that violinist Emily Sun (winner of the 2015 AMF Nora Goodridge Emerging Artist Award), has won the String Section category in the 2016 Royal Overseas League Competition. She will take part in the Finals at Cadogan Hall in London on 1st June. Emily has also been selected for the Tillett Trust Young Artists' Platform, which consists of a series of recitals in the UK over the next year, including a recital at the Wigmore Hall. Many congratulations to Emily and all good wishes for her continued success.
AMF Prize-Winners' Concert, Australia House, 25.11.15
Many thanks to all who attended the AMF Prize-Winners' Concert in the Downer Room at Australia House on 25 November. All seven of the 2015 Awardees performed in the presence of the Deputy High Commissioner, Mr Andrew Todd. Penfolds fine wines were kindly sponsored by Treasury Wine Estates and Cooper's Ale was served courtesy of the office of the Agent General for South Australia. Catering was by Australian Chef, Chris Honor of Chris Kitch in Muswell Hill. The AMF gratefully acknowledges all donations received as a result of the event.
Emily Sun to play in the Tchaikovsky Great Hall, Moscow
Violinist, Emily Sun, winner of the 2015 AMF Nora Goodridge Emerging Artist Award, has been invited to play as soloist with the Moscovia Chamber Orchestra in the Tchaikovsky Great Hall in Moscow on 1 December.
Emily Sun, born in Sydney, began playing the violin at the age of 4, studying with her late father Dr Daniel Yi Sun. She has won all major violin competitions in Australia including the National Youth Concerto Competition, and the ABC Young Performers Award, and is a regular soloist with the Sydney, Melbourne, Queensland, Tasmania and Canberra Symphony Orchestras. Emily is widely recognized in Australia following the release of the award-winning documentary 'Mrs Carey's Concert'. She is using the AMF Nora Goodridge Emerging Artist Award to support her final year in the Masters of Music degree at the Royal College of Music. Future engagements include soloist with the Moscovia Chamber Orchestra in Moscow, South Arizona Symphony in Phoenix USA and the premiere of the Kazemi Violin Concerto with the Light of Music Philharmonic Orchestra in Cadogan Hall next January.
Stephanie Jones to feature in Sunday in the Apartment 29.11.15
2015 AMF Awardee, classical guitarist Stephanie Jones, will feature as a guest artist in Sunday in the Apartment on Sunday 29 November, which marks the 5th Anniversary of the cabaret show.
Stephanie Jones began learning the guitar at 11 years old in Perth, Australia. After school she studied guitar at the Australian National University, Canberra, and graduated with First Class Honours in 2014. She is currently studying for a Masters in Classical Guitar Performance with Thomas Müller-Pering at the University of Music Franz Liszt in Cologne, Germany. She has had a successful career so far, taking part in an Australia-wide tour and releasing a new CD entitled ‘Colours of Spain’. Stephanie has won multiple competitions, prestigious scholarships and awards, and will use her AMF Award to continue to study in Europe, and enable her to attend many festivals, including the Darmstadt Guitar Festival in December and the Guitar Foundation of America Convention. She is planning a New Zealand tour next year.