Resonate Magazine | Australian Music Centre

[Update 21 August: finalists Matthew Kneale, Tamara Kohler and Alex Raineri have been announced.]

Nominees for the 2017 Freedman Classical Music Fellowship have been confirmed, along with the date for the finalists' concert in September. The eight artists competing for the $20,000 Fellowship are bassoonist Matthew Kneale; flautist Tamara Kohler; double bassist Jaan Pallandi; pianist Alex Raineri; percussionist Thea Rossen; double bassist Phoebe Russell; violinist Emily Sheppard and violist Katie Yap. The annual Fellowship gives a classical instrumentalist (of up to 30 years of age) the chance to undertake a career-enhancing creative project. Most project proposals of the 2017 nominees involve developing or commissioning new Australian work.

Out of the eight nominees, three artists will go on to perform at a special Finalists' Concert on Saturday 9 September from 7.30pm at the ABC's Eugene Goossens Hall in Sydney. In addition to the announcement of the winner, the evening will feature a performance by the 2005 Freedman Fellow, percussionist Claire Edwardes. Other past winners of the Fellowship include Timothy Constable, Eugene Ughetti, Joseph Tawadros, Geoffrey Morris, Karin Schaupp, Genevieve Lacey, William Barton, Kristian Winther, Lina Andonovska, Ashley Smith, Tamara Anna Cislowska, Peter de Jager and Aviva Endean. The most recent Fellow (2016) is violist Stefanie Farrands. For details of previous Fellows, see the Music Trust website.

The Freedman Classical Fellowship is funded by the Freedman Foundation, which assists talented young Australians in the arts and supports important medical and scientific research. The Fellowships for Classical Music and Jazz are managed by the Music Trust and administered by Sydney Improvised Music Association (SIMA).

> See also: Music Trust website