Yvonne Kenny AM awarded 2019 Australian of the Year in the UK

Many congratulations to AMF Chairman, Yvonne Kenny AM, who was named Australian of the Year in the UK at the Australia Day Foundation awards ceremony at Australia House in January 2019. Pictured left, receiving her award from High Commissioner HE the Hon George Brandis QC.

Yvonne Kenny is one of the most distinguished sopranos of her generation. She was born in Sydney and gained a BSc in Biochemistry before moving to London to study singing. She made her operatic debut in 1975, after which she joined the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden where she remained a member of the company until 1994. 
She built an enviable reputation as a dazzling interpreter of works by Handel, Mozart, Donizetti, Britten and the heroines of Richard Strauss, with international appearances at the Wiener Staatsoper, La Scala Milan, Salzburger Festspiel, Staatsoper Berlin, Opera de Paris, English National Opera, San Francisco, Glyndebourne and the Staatsoper, Munich. 
Throughout her long career Yvonne has continued to return to Australia, singing major roles with Opera Australia and performing with all the major symphony orchestras. She was honoured to perform at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She also has a discography of over 66 international titles including her Gold Disc Simple Gifts for ABC Classics. She was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1989 for services to music and received an Honorary Doctorate in Music from the University of Sydney in 1999. 
Yvonne now devotes her time to teaching and mentoring young singers. She is a Professor of Voice at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama and a vocal coach with the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at ROH Covent Garden.