To date, the AMF has presented awards to 204 young Australian musicians, to help support their studies overseas.

AMF Awardees for 2019

Following the Finals at the Royal Academy of Music on 13 October, eleven young musicians have been awarded grants to support their studies overseas. More information about our new awardees will be posted very soon.

Named Awards:

Magdalenna Krstevska (Clarinet, RCM) - AMF Nora Goodridge Developing Artist Award

Magdalenna Krstevska was born in Melbourne and has performed in renowned concert halls across Australia, Europe and China. After graduating from the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music with First Class Honours in 2015, Magdalenna completed her studies at the Australian National Academy of Music. In 2018 she was selected into the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s prestigious Fellowship program, during which she performed in over twenty-five SSO programs and a European tour. Magdalenna is thrilled to be a recipient of the AMF Nora Goodridge Developing Artist Award, which will go directly towards her tuition fees at the Royal College of Music in London, where she recently commenced a Master of Performance.

James Blackford (Euphonium, RNCM) - AMF Guy Parsons Award (Portland House Foundation)

James Blackford is an Australian euphonium player currently studying a Master of Music at the Royal Northern College of Music, in Manchester. His studies have been generously supported by the AMF Guy Parsons Award, the John Fewkes Scholarship, the Marah Mahlowe Brass Award and the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts. James also receives support from the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia and Creative Partnerships Australia through the Australian Cultural Fund. Originally from Brisbane, James graduated with a Bachelor of Music in advanced performance from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music before moving to Sydney after successfully auditioning as the youngest ever full-time member of the NSW Police Band. He has performed with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, National Australia Brass, as a soloist with the Queensland Conservatorium of Music Wind Orchestra and is the current Australian national euphonium champion. Thanks to the Australian Music Foundation, James has been able to extend his studies at the RNCM and will use the extra time to continue developing his skills, knowledge and experience as a euphonium performer and solo artist.

Yvette Keong (Soprano, Juillird School, New York) - AMF Nora Goodridge Young Artist Award

AMF Awards: 

Victoria Wong (Violin, Berlin)  
David Soo (Piano, GSMD)  
Waynne Kwon (Cello, RNCM)    
Jeremy Kleeman (Bass Baritone, RCM Opera Studio)  
Courtenay Cleary (Violin, Juilliard School, New York) 
Guillaume Wang (Cello, Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, Brussels)  
Robbin Reza (Piano, Cologne)  
Mitzi Gardner (Violin, RAM)

AMF 2018 Awardees

Samantha Clarke, soprano (GSMD Opera School) - AMF Nora Goodridge Emerging Artist Award

Samantha comes from Perth and is currently studying on the Opera Course at the GSMD, supported by the AMF Nora Goodridge Emerging Artist Award, the Tait Memorial Trust and the Countess of Munster Trust. At GSMD she has performed the role of Anna Gomez in The Consul, Fiordiligi (Cosi fan tutte) and Helena (A Midsummer Night’s Dream). Samantha completed an Advanced Postgraduate Diploma and Intensive MMus at the RNCM, as a Sir John FisherFoundation and Independent Opera Scholar. While at the RNCM she sang Fiordiligi and the title role in Handel’s Theodora, and won the Leverhulme RNCM Award, the Dame Eva Turner Award, the Michael and Joyce Kennedy Strauss Award, and a 2017 RNCM Gold Medal. In 2017, she made her professional debut as Pamina in Mozart’s The Magic Flute at the Longborough Festival, followed by the role of Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with British Youth Opera, for whom she also sang the role of Anne Trulove (The Rake’s Progress) last summer. She will be singing the role of Musetta in La Bohème for Opera North later this year.
CLICK for video of ‘No Word From Tom’ from Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress

Rachel Siu, cello (Juilliard School) - AMF Nora Goodridge Young Artist Award  

Rachel was born in Sydney, previously studying with Peter Rejto before moving to New York to pursue a BMus at The Juilliard School with Joel Krosnick in 2015. She is currently in her fourth year at school. Rachel made her orchestral debut at age 9, performing the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto with the Beecroft Orchestra. In 2017, Rachel made her international debut with the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Long Yu in the 2017 New Year’s concert in the Xinghai Concert Hall, and her international concerto debut with The Juilliard School Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Thomas Adès at Alice Tully Hall, performing the Elgar Cello Concerto, after winning The Juilliard School Concerto Competition 2017. She also recently won the Getting to Carnegie International Competition. In 2009, at the age of 11, Rachel became the youngest winner in the 33-year history of the National Youth Concerto Competition in Australia. Her AMF Award is allowing Rachel to continue pursuing her dreams as a musician by supporting the completion of her degree at The Juilliard School.
CLICK for video of Dvorak - Cello Concerto in B Minor, Allegro

Victoria Wong, violin (Hanns Eisler School, Berlin) - AMF Award

Victoria is from Sydney and is currently undertaking her Bachelor’s degree at the Universität der Künste in Berlin with Prof. Nora Chastain. She started learning the violin with Rachel Miller and continued under Prof. Goetz Richter until she moved to Germany in 2013, where she attended the Landesgymnasium für Musik in Dresden and studied under Jörg Fassmann. She has participated in masterclasses with Nora Chastain, Cheng Shen, Donald Weilerstein, Silvia Simionescu, Louise Hopkins, and Tim Kliphuis. Victoria’s Australian Music Foundation Award will be used to support her studies in Berlin and provide her with the funding to participate in further international competitions and masterclasses. She is the winner of the 25th Gyarfas Competition Berlin and a prizewinner at the International Max Rostal Competition and the International Arthur Grumiaux Competition. She has appeared as a soloist with the JSO Dresden, JSO Berlin and the Youth Classics Orchestra.
Click for video of Wienawski - Variations on an Original Theme Op.15.
Click for video of Kreisler - Gypsy Caprice

Waynne Kwon, Cello (RNCM) - AMF Award

Waynne was born in South Korea and moved to Sydney at the age of three. He is in the first year of his MMus at the RNCM in Manchester, supported by the Haworth Trust, the Dorothea Stone Award, the Tait Memorial Trust (Higgins Family Scholar) and the AMF. His 2016 AMF Award enabled him to buy a new bow for his cello, and he was the AMF Guy Parsons Awardee in 2017. Other prizes include the 2015 Raphael Sommer Scholarship, the Finalist Prize at the Bromsgrove International Music Competition,the 2016 Sir John Barbirolli cello prize, and the 2017 Concerto Prize at the RNCM. He was also selected for the Professional Engagements Scheme with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Waynne is a member of the Louko Piano Trio, winners of the Chris Rowland Prize for RNCM Ensemble of the Year and the Beethoven Piano Society of Europe’s Chamber Music Competition. His recently formed Huoguo Quartet won the 2017 RNCM Weil Prize and the Chris Rowland Prize for RNCM Ensembleof the Year 2017. Waynne currently performs on a cello made by Francesco Ruggieri in 1694, generously on loan from the RNCM.

David Soo, piano (GSMD) - AMF Award

David has performed in concert throughout Australia, China, Spain, the United Kingdom, Malaysia and Indonesia. He completed his undergraduate studies with Glenn Riddle at the University of Melbourne with first class honours and gained a Master of Music with distinction. He is now pursuing an Artist Diploma at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Joan Havill. David has performed regularly on ABC Classic FM, the Australian Fine Music Broadcasting Stations, FMITE Spanish Radio and also for New Zealand Classic FM. He has won many prizes both in Australia and overseasand is very grateful to the Australian Music Foundation, Help Musicians UK, YMF Australia, Mary Elizabeth McComas Scholarship and the Guildhall School Trust for financial support. David recently won the Guildhall Glass-Sellers’ Piano Prize and will be making his recital debut in Beijing in April, performing works by Beethoven, Prokofiev, Ravel and Liszt. Later this year he will be presenting recitals for Steinway and Sons Australia (Melbourne), Taiwan (Taipei) and Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur). The funds from his AMF Award have assisted him to travel abroad to give concerts.
CLICK for video of Nikolai Kapustin Etude No 8

Courtenay Cleary, violin (Juilliard School) - AMF Guy Parsons Award (Portland House Foundation)

Courtenay is currently in the first year of her MMus at The Juilliard School in New York, studying with professor Naoko Tanaka. She recently received her BMus with first-class honours from the Royal Academy of Music in London. Courtenay performed as a soloist for HM the Queen at Westminster Abbey for the 2017 Royal Commonwealth Service, broadcast live on BBC television, and again in 2018 at Buckingham Palace for the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. During her time in London, she performed as a soloist at various venues including Wigmore Hall, St James’ Piccadilly, the Regent Hall, and Colston Hall, Bristol. She recently performed Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra in Sydney and will be returning to Australia in 2019to give the Australian premiere of David Lang’s Mystery Sonatas. She is a Tait Memorial Trust and ABRSM scholar and was recently awarded second prize at the Australian Concerto and Vocal Competition as well as the Dame Joan Sutherland Award from the American Australian Association and the AMF Guy Parsons Award. 
CLICK for video of Bach violin sonata No 3, Largo, at Westminster Abbey.
CLICK for video of Poulenc violin sonata 2nd mvt
CLICK for video of ‘Dark sister’ by Australian composer Ben Heim

Zoe Drummond, soprano (GSMD Opera School) - AMF Award

Zoe is currently completing an Artist Masters of Opera Performance at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She holds a Bachelor of Music Performance (1st class Hons) from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and was a Melba Opera Trust Scholar from 2015-2017. Zoe won the 2018 IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition and the 2016 Opera Foundation for Young Australians Lady Fairfax New York Scholarship. Recent performances include Despina in Così fan Tutte, Susan in A Dinner Engagement and Tytania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Guildhall Opera Studio); Giroflé/Girofla in Two Weddings One Brideand Architect’s Daughter in The Eighth Wonder (Opera Australia); and Nightingale in The Sleeping Beauty (Victorian Opera). This year she will be understudying the role of Papagena in The Magic Flute for English National Opera and singing the role of Clorinda in La Cenerentola for West Green Opera. CLICK for video of ‘Quando me’n vo’ from Puccini’s La Bohème

Rohan Dasika, Double Bass (Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst, Frankfurt) - AMF Award

Rohan was born in 1992 in Vancouver and raised in Melbourne. He began playing the double bass aged 12, the culmination of a slow descent through trombone and tuba. He is a graduate of the Australian National University and the Australian National Academy of Music, and in 2015 made study trips to Philadelphia and Vienna, courtesy of an Australia Council ArtStart Grant. Rohan moved to Frankfurt in September 2017 to take a position in the Paul-Hindemith-Orchesterakademie of the Frankfurter Opern-und-Museumsorchester, where he has performed in productions of Rusalka (Dvorak), Oedipus Rex (Stravinsky), Iolanta (Tchaikovsky), Capriccio (Strauss), I Puritani (Bellini), Die Lustige Witwe (Lehár) and Die Zauberflöte (Mozart). In April 2018 he began his studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt under Prof. Christoph Schmidt. His Australian Music Foundation Award has allowed him to purchase a new bow by master bow-maker Klaus Uebel in Markneukirchen. He will return to Melbourne in April for a period of work with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
CLICK for video of Kicho by Astor Piazzolla

Robbin Reza, piano (Hochschule für Musik und Tanz, Köln, Germany) - AMF UK Trustees Award

Robbin is currently studying in Cologne, Germany. He began learning the piano at the age of five in Sydney, with Sayano Ito. Subsequently, Robbin attended the Sydney Conservatorium High School, studying with Daniel Herscovitch, who continued to be his teacher during his time at the Sydney Conservatorium where he gained his BMus Performance. Robbin graduated with First Class Honours in 2016 and is now studying for his MMus with Claudio Martinez Mehner and Nina Tichman at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz, Köln. Robbin is currently working on many solo and chamber music projects with various instrumentalists - some focusing on New Music as a collaborative composer and performer for Ensemble Musikfabrik. His Australian Music Foundation UK Trustees Award will assist him to commission new works and cover his travel costs in preparation for his next degree, a masters in New Music. 

AMF 2017 Awardees

Samantha Clarke, soprano, (Opera Artist Diploma, GSMD, London) - AMF Nora Goodridge Developing Artist Award CLICK for video

Phoebe Gardner, violin, Sydney (BMus, Juilliard School, New York) - AMF Nora Goodridge Young Artist Award CLICK for Video

Connor D’Netto, composer, Queensland (Masters, RCM, London) AMF Award CLICK for sound clip

Matan Franco, composer, Melbourne (Masters in Film Scoring, Pulse College, Dublin) AMF Award CLICK for sound clip

Oscar Jiang, piano, Carlton (BMus, Juilliard School, New York - also 2016 awardee) AMF Nora Goodridge Young Artist Award CLICK for video

Waynne Kwon, cello, Sydney (BMusHONS, RNCM, Manchester, also 2016 awardee) AMF Guy Parsons Award CLICK for video

Victoria Wong, violin, Darlinghurst (BMus, Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler, Berlin) AMF Award CLICK for video

Edith Yam, organ, Sydney (Masters, Conservatory of Amsterdam) AMF UK Trustees Award

Eilidh Young, snare drum, Gosford NSW (BMus, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) - AMF Award CLICK for video

AMF 2016 Awardees

Justin Sun - Bassoon - AMF Nora Goodridge Emerging Artist Award

 Justin was born and raised in Canberra, and moved to Sydney in 2012 to complete a Bachelor of Music Performance at the Sydney Conservatorium. He began playing the bassoon aged thirteen and, being inherently drawn to novelty, also plays the theremin and musical saw. During his degree, from 2014 -16, Justin was mentored by members of the Sydney Symphony as part of their Sinfonia and Fellowship programs. He has performed as a guest principal with the Sydney Symphony and the Australian Opera and  Ballet Orchestra. Justin will use the funds from the AMF Nora Goodridge Emerging  Artist Award towards musical and living expenses in London, while he completes a  Master of Performance degree at the Royal College of Music. To watch videos of Justin performing at the  AMF Finals at Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall in October 2016, please click HERE

Jesse Flowers - Guitar - AMF Guy Parsons Award

Jesse was born in Sydney and started guitar lessons with Christopher Keane at the age of eleven. He completed his Bachelor of Music under the guidance of Minh Le Hoang and Timothy Kain. Since November 2014 he has been studying with Tilman Hoppstock at the Akademie für Tonkunst in Darmstadt, Germany, where he won the scholarship of the Darmstädter Musikpreis; first prize at the Prinzessin Margaret von Hessen Wettbewerb; a scholarship from the Deutsche Muskrat following his success at the Deutsche Musikwettbewerb, and first prize at the Internationalen Gitarrenwettbewerb Nürtingen. Jesse will participate in the Bundesauswahl Konzerte Junger Künstler's 2017/18 season. The AMF Guy Parsons Award will support his future Masters studies in Europe and has enabled him to purchase a new instrument by luthier Antonius Müller. www.jesseflowersguitar.com
To watch a video of Jesse performing at the AMF Finals at Wigmore Hall in October 2016, please click HERE

Daniel Mullaney - Tenor - AMF Nora Goodridge Developing Artist Award

 Daniel grew up and trained in Perth, Australia, where he attended the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts, studying under Patricia Price. Whilst at college, he performed several roles, including Tom Bakewell (The Rake's Progress), Lucentio (Der Widerspänstigen Zähmung by Hermann Goetz) and  Obadiah (Elijah). In 2013, at the age of 21, Daniel became a full-time member of the chorus of English National Opera, the youngest chorister ever employed by the company. At ENO Daniel covered several roles, including Francesco (Benvenuto Cellini) and Frederic (The Pirates of Penzance). He made his ENO debut in 2014 at the Postman in Puccini's La Fanciulla del West. He currently studies with David Pollard in the Opera School at the Guildhall School of Music and  Drama.  To watch videos of Daniel performing at the AMF Finals at Wigmore Hall in October 2016, please click HERE                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Jade Moffat - Mezzo-soprano - AMF Nora Goodridge Developing Artist Award

Jade was born in Toowoomba, and graduated with a Bachelor of music in Advanced Performance from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. She was a Young Artist with Opera Queensland, held the Dame Nellie Melba Scholarship for 2014 and 2015, was the recipient of the Marianne Marthy scholarship with the IFAC Singing Competition, and is an Independent Opera Scholar for 2016. Recent roles include Judith (Bluebeard's Castle), Mrs Nolan (The Medium), Fenena (Nabucco), Kate Pinkerton (cover Madama Butterfly for Opera Australia), Diane (The Perfect American) and Tisbe (cover La Cenerentola for Opera Queensland). Jade is currently completing her Masters on the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Opera Course, where her roles will include Marta (Iolanta), Mother (Mavra) and Zenobia (Radamisto). www.jademoffat.com
 To watch videos of Jade performing at the AMF Finals at Wigmore Hall in October 2016, please click HERE

James Guan - Piano - AMF Award

James was born in Sydney and studied at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music Primary School, the  Sydney Conservatorium of Music High School, and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music under Paul Rickard-Ford. He is currently completing a Masters degree at the Royal Academy of Music under Ian Fountain, with the support of the AMF. His prizes include fourth in the Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition; the Kerikeri International Piano Competition; Most Outstanding Recitalist in the Emerging Artists Series, and third in the International Competition Piana del Cavaliere and the Clamo International Piano Competition. He was also the recipient of the Best Australian Award at the Sydney International Piano Competition, and winner of the Great Romantics Competition in Melbourne. He intends to participate in further competitions and festivals in Europe during his studies in London. www.jamesguanpianist.com 
To watch a video of James performing at the AMF Finals at Wigmore Hall in October 2016, please click HERE

Shanie Klas - Percussion - AMF Award

Shanie was born in Melbourne, and while at High School she heard Israeli Percussion duo PercaDu perform a concerto with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, which inspired her to make music her future. Since then she has performed concertos with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Monash Academy Orchestras, won the Australian Marimba Competition and the  Monash University Concerto Competition in consecutive years. Shanie has toured Europe as a member of the  Australian Youth Orchestra, and regularly performs with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Her AMF Award will support her current studies with She-e-Wu, Christopher Lamb and Vadim Karpinos for her Masters of Music in  Performance at Northwestern University, USA, where she has been named the Richard and Helen Thomas Fellow and is also supported by the  Ian Potter Cultural Trust. To watch videos of Shanie performing recently at University, please click HERE

Waynne Kwon - Cello - AMF Award

Waynne was born in Seoul, South Korea in 1995 and began playing the cello at the age of three, first studying with his mother before moving to Sydney. He currently studies at the Royal Northern College of Music under Hannah Roberts, with a full bursary, generously supported by the Howarth Trust and Leverhulme Trust. Waynne was also awarded the Higgins Family Scholarship from the Tait Memorial Trust in 2014. He plans to use his AMF Award towards the purchase of a new bow for his instrument and to attend summer courses in Europe. Waynne is fortunate to be performing on a cello made by Francesco Ruggieri in 1694, on loan from the RNCM for the duration of his studies. In August 2017, he will be collaborating as a soloist with the Penrith Symphony Orchestra, Western Sydney, and the Concertante Ensemble. To watch a video of Waynne playing at the AMF Finals at Wigmore Hall in October 2016, please click HERE 

Oscar Jiang - Piano - AMF Award

Oscar was born in Melbourne and started paying the piano at the age of six. He studied at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School, and has won numerous prizes at national and international competitions, such as Best Performance of a Work by Chopin at the 2015 Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition, fifth place at the 2013 Thailand International Piano Competition, and third place in the 2012 Hanoi International Piano Competition in Vietnam, as well as other significant prizes in Australia. He is currently in his first year of his BMus at the  Juilliard School, New York, studying with Professor Matti Raekallio. Oscar's AMF Award will help to support his music education in the USA and enable him to take part in upcoming international piano competitions. To watch a video of Oscar playing Chopin's Ballade in F Minor, Opus 52, please click HERE

James Yan - Composer - AMF UK Trustees Award

James comes from Illawarra NSW, and is a film composer and conductor, studying at the Royal College of Music, in the Master of Composition (Composition for Screen) program, under the tutelage of Francis Shaw. He currently holds the position of assistant conductor of the Student Film Orchestra at the RCM. Since completing his BMus, James has written scores for almost twenty short films and documentaries, receiving numerous nominations for best score at the Sydney Film School and Melbourne Indie film festivals. He received the Best Composer award at the 22nd Sydney Film School film festival. In Australia, James studied under renowned Australian composers Christopher Gordon and Caitlin Yeo, orchestrator Anton Koch and conductor -Grace Williams. James's AMF Award will support his living expenses for this academic year. www.jamesyancomposer.com / Facebook 
Please click HERE for video of James conducting a scoring session at the  RCM
Please click HERE for video of James's composition, The Little Matchgirl

AMF 2019 Awardees

Magdalenna Krstevska - clarinet - the AMF Nora Goodridge Developing Artist Award

Magdalenna Krstevska was born in Melbourne and has performed in renowned concert halls across Australia, Europe and China. After graduating from the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music with First Class Honours in 2015, Magdalenna completed her studies at the Australian National Academy of Music. In 2018 she was selected into the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s prestigious Fellowship program, during which she performed in over twenty-five SSO programs and a European tour. Magdalenna is thrilled to be a recipient of the AMF Nora Goodridge Developing Artist Award, which will go directly towards her tuition fees at the Royal College of Music in London, where she recently commenced a Master of Performance.

Lauren Fagan - Soprano

Lauren Fagan was born in Sydney and began her training as a Dame Nellie Melba Opera Trust Scholar, studying with Glenn Winslade and Sharolyn Kimmorley. She moved to London and completed the GSMD Opera Course and is now a member of the Royal Opera House Jette Parker Young Artist Programme. In her first Season her roles included Oscar (Un ballo in maschera), Gianetta (L’Elisir d’amore) and Papagena (Die Zauberflöte). Her future productions for the Royal Opera include Muse (Orfeo), Lila (The Firework-Maker’s Daughter), Suor Genovieffa (Suor Angelica), Amante (Il tabarro) and Ines (Il trovatore). She will use her AMF scholarship to continue her training in London with Susan Waters, among other vocal coaches and language specialists.
PERFORMANCE VIDEOS

Alexandra Flood - Soprano

Alexandra Flood was born in Victoria and completed her DipMus at the Melbourne Conservatory of Music in 2011. As young artist at the Salzburg Festival, she sang Blonde (Die Entführung aus dem Serail für Kinder), Modistin (Der Rosenkavalier, Vienna Philharmonic) and Clorinda (La Cenerentola für Kinder). In 2015 she made her German debut as Marguerite in Le Petit Faust with the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz, Munich. Next year, Alexandra will reprise the role of Blonde with the Bregenz Landestheater in Austria and sing Edna in Jonathan Dove’s Tobias and the Angel with the Münchener Rundfunkorchester. She is currently studying for a Master of Opera at the Bayerische Theater Akademie August Everding at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich. Alexandra’s AMF award will support her formal music education and ongoing private studies. She recently won one of only 12  places out of 1,300 applicants to perform at the Wolf Trap Summer Opera Festival in Virginia this year.
PERFORMANCE VIDEOS

Stephanie Jones - Guitar 

Stephanie Jones began learning 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 to 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.
PERFORMANCE VIDEOS

Andrey Lebedev - Guitar

Andrey Lebedev was born in Moscow and brought up in Australia. He is studying for an Advanced Diploma in Performance at the Royal Academy of Music in London, supported by the Australian Music Foundation. He gained his BMus degree with First Class Honours at the Australian National University in 2012, and became the only Australian to win 1st prize in the Adelaide International Guitar Competition, the first classical guitarist to receive the Australian National Fine Music ‘Young Performer of the Year’ Award, and the only classical guitarist to gain a Sydney Eisteddfod Instrumental Scholarship. In 2013 he won 1st prize and the Bach prize in the 25th Gisborne International Music Competition, and in 2015 was awarded his MA with distinction, and won the RAM ‘David Russell’ Guitar Prize and Recital Diploma.
PERFORMANCE VIDEOS

Sonya Pigot - Piano -  The AMF Nora Goodridge Young Artist Award

Sonya Pigot studied piano in Hobart, Tasmania, from the age of 4. She received her AmusA in 2012 and LmusA in Piano Practice in 2013 from the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music. Sonya won the 2013 Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra Rising Star Competition, andin 2014 was awarded First Prize in both the Hephzibah Menuhin Memorial Award Piano Competition and the Tasmanian Conservatorium Piano Competition. She was also the Piano Finalist in the 3MBS Young Performer Award, at Melba Hall, University of Melbourne. Sonya has participated in International Piano Masterclasses in Sydney with John Perry, in Spain with Pavel Gililov, and at the Epinal International Piano Competition in France. She is the recipient of the AMF Nora Goodridge Young Artist Award and is currently in the first year of her BMus (Hons) at the Royal College of Music, London.
PERFORMANCE VIDEO

Emily Sun - Violin - The AMF Nora Goodridge Emerging Artist Award

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. Emily won the Gold Medal at the Grand Final of the Royal Overseas League Competition at Cadogan Hall on 1 June 2016.
PERFORMANCE VIDEOS

AMF 2016 Awardees

Justin Sun - Bassoon - AMF Nora Goodridge Emerging Artist Award

 Justin was born and raised in Canberra, and moved to Sydney in 2012 to complete a Bachelor of Music Performance at the Sydney Conservatorium. He began playing the bassoon aged thirteen and, being inherently drawn to novelty, also plays the theremin and musical saw. During his degree, from 2014 -16, Justin was mentored by members of the Sydney Symphony as part of their Sinfonia and Fellowship programs. He has performed as a guest principal with the Sydney Symphony and the Australian Opera and  Ballet Orchestra. Justin will use the funds from the AMF Nora Goodridge Emerging  Artist Award towards musical and living expenses in London, while he completes a  Master of Performance degree at the Royal College of Music. To watch videos of Justin performing at the  AMF Finals at Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall in October 2016, please click HERE

Jesse Flowers - Guitar - AMF Guy Parsons Award

Jesse was born in Sydney and started guitar lessons with Christopher Keane at the age of eleven. He completed his Bachelor of Music under the guidance of Minh Le Hoang and Timothy Kain. Since November 2014 he has been studying with Tilman Hoppstock at the Akademie für Tonkunst in Darmstadt, Germany, where he won the scholarship of the Darmstädter Musikpreis; first prize at the Prinzessin Margaret von Hessen Wettbewerb; a scholarship from the Deutsche Muskrat following his success at the Deutsche Musikwettbewerb, and first prize at the Internationalen Gitarrenwettbewerb Nürtingen. Jesse will participate in the Bundesauswahl Konzerte Junger Künstler's 2017/18 season. The AMF Guy Parsons Award will support his future Masters studies in Europe and has enabled him to purchase a new instrument by luthier Antonius Müller. www.jesseflowersguitar.com
To watch a video of Jesse performing at the AMF Finals at Wigmore Hall in October 2016, please click HERE

Daniel Mullaney - Tenor - AMF Nora Goodridge Developing Artist Award

 Daniel grew up and trained in Perth, Australia, where he attended the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts, studying under Patricia Price. Whilst at college, he performed several roles, including Tom Bakewell (The Rake's Progress), Lucentio (Der Widerspänstigen Zähmung by Hermann Goetz) and  Obadiah (Elijah). In 2013, at the age of 21, Daniel became a full-time member of the chorus of English National Opera, the youngest chorister ever employed by the company. At ENO Daniel covered several roles, including Francesco (Benvenuto Cellini) and Frederic (The Pirates of Penzance). He made his ENO debut in 2014 at the Postman in Puccini's La Fanciulla del West. He currently studies with David Pollard in the Opera School at the Guildhall School of Music and  Drama.  To watch videos of Daniel performing at the AMF Finals at Wigmore Hall in October 2016, please click HERE                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Jade Moffat - Mezzo-soprano - AMF Nora Goodridge Developing Artist Award

Jade was born in Toowoomba, and graduated with a Bachelor of music in Advanced Performance from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. She was a Young Artist with Opera Queensland, held the Dame Nellie Melba Scholarship for 2014 and 2015, was the recipient of the Marianne Marthy scholarship with the IFAC Singing Competition, and is an Independent Opera Scholar for 2016. Recent roles include Judith (Bluebeard's Castle), Mrs Nolan (The Medium), Fenena (Nabucco), Kate Pinkerton (cover Madama Butterfly for Opera Australia), Diane (The Perfect American) and Tisbe (cover La Cenerentola for Opera Queensland). Jade is currently completing her Masters on the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Opera Course, where her roles will include Marta (Iolanta), Mother (Mavra) and Zenobia (Radamisto). www.jademoffat.com
 To watch videos of Jade performing at the AMF Finals at Wigmore Hall in October 2016, please click HERE

James Guan - Piano - AMF Award

James was born in Sydney and studied at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music Primary School, the  Sydney Conservatorium of Music High School, and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music under Paul Rickard-Ford. He is currently completing a Masters degree at the Royal Academy of Music under Ian Fountain, with the support of the AMF. His prizes include fourth in the Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition; the Kerikeri International Piano Competition; Most Outstanding Recitalist in the Emerging Artists Series, and third in the International Competition Piana del Cavaliere and the Clamo International Piano Competition. He was also the recipient of the Best Australian Award at the Sydney International Piano Competition, and winner of the Great Romantics Competition in Melbourne. He intends to participate in further competitions and festivals in Europe during his studies in London. www.jamesguanpianist.com 
To watch a video of James performing at the AMF Finals at Wigmore Hall in October 2016, please click HERE

Shanie Klas - Percussion - AMF Award

Shanie was born in Melbourne, and while at High School she heard Israeli Percussion duo PercaDu perform a concerto with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, which inspired her to make music her future. Since then she has performed concertos with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Monash Academy Orchestras, won the Australian Marimba Competition and the  Monash University Concerto Competition in consecutive years. Shanie has toured Europe as a member of the  Australian Youth Orchestra, and regularly performs with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Her AMF Award will support her current studies with She-e-Wu, Christopher Lamb and Vadim Karpinos for her Masters of Music in  Performance at Northwestern University, USA, where she has been named the Richard and Helen Thomas Fellow and is also supported by the  Ian Potter Cultural Trust. To watch videos of Shanie performing recently at University, please click HERE

Waynne Kwon - Cello - AMF Award

Waynne was born in Seoul, South Korea in 1995 and began playing the cello at the age of three, first studying with his mother before moving to Sydney. He currently studies at the Royal Northern College of Music under Hannah Roberts, with a full bursary, generously supported by the Howarth Trust and Leverhulme Trust. Waynne was also awarded the Higgins Family Scholarship from the Tait Memorial Trust in 2014. He plans to use his AMF Award towards the purchase of a new bow for his instrument and to attend summer courses in Europe. Waynne is fortunate to be performing on a cello made by Francesco Ruggieri in 1694, on loan from the RNCM for the duration of his studies. In August 2017, he will be collaborating as a soloist with the Penrith Symphony Orchestra, Western Sydney, and the Concertante Ensemble. To watch a video of Waynne playing at the AMF Finals at Wigmore Hall in October 2016, please click HERE 

Oscar Jiang - Piano - AMF Award

Oscar was born in Melbourne and started paying the piano at the age of six. He studied at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School, and has won numerous prizes at national and international competitions, such as Best Performance of a Work by Chopin at the 2015 Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition, fifth place at the 2013 Thailand International Piano Competition, and third place in the 2012 Hanoi International Piano Competition in Vietnam, as well as other significant prizes in Australia. He is currently in his first year of his BMus at the  Juilliard School, New York, studying with Professor Matti Raekallio. Oscar's AMF Award will help to support his music education in the USA and enable him to take part in upcoming international piano competitions. To watch a video of Oscar playing Chopin's Ballade in F Minor, Opus 52, please click HERE

James Yan - Composer - AMF UK Trustees Award

James comes from Illawarra NSW, and is a film composer and conductor, studying at the Royal College of Music, in the Master of Composition (Composition for Screen) program, under the tutelage of Francis Shaw. He currently holds the position of assistant conductor of the Student Film Orchestra at the RCM. Since completing his BMus, James has written scores for almost twenty short films and documentaries, receiving numerous nominations for best score at the Sydney Film School and Melbourne Indie film festivals. He received the Best Composer award at the 22nd Sydney Film School film festival. In Australia, James studied under renowned Australian composers Christopher Gordon and Caitlin Yeo, orchestrator Anton Koch and conductor -Grace Williams. James's AMF Award will support his living expenses for this academic year. www.jamesyancomposer.com / Facebook 
Please click HERE for video of James conducting a scoring session at the  RCM
Please click HERE for video of James's composition, The Little Matchgirl

Please visit the ALUMNI page for details of previous AMF Awardees