Classical Fellows

2010 Freedman Classical Fellow

Kristian Winther

Thursday July 15: The Music Council of Australia and Freedman Foundation are delighted to announce Kristian Winther as the winner of the 2010 MCA/Freedman Fellowship for Classical Music.

KRISTIAN WINTHER (Violin, Melbourne) was born in Canberra in 1984 and has studied violin with Josette Esquedin-Morgan and John Harding, and conducting with John Curro.

Kristian with violin.jpg

As a soloist he has performed with the Melbourne, Sydney and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras, the Auckland Philharmonic, Orchestra Victoria, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra and Melbourne Youth Orchestra, and has been Guest Assistant Concertmaster of the Adelaide and Western Australian Symphony Orchestras and the Hong Kong Philharmonic. From 2007-2008 Kristian was violinist with the TinAlley String Quartet, winning the 2007 Banff International String Quartet Competition, which was followed by critically acclaimed tours of the USA and Europe. He has also played chamber music with Richard Tognetti, Brett Dean, among others. Kristian is also a composer, and premiered his work for string quartet "...etude" at the Sydney Opera House in 2008 with the TinAlley String Quartet. He is currently undertaking a fellowship at the Australian National Academy of Music.

The judges for 2010 are three respected members of Australia’s classical music community: Peter Czornyj, Goetz Richter and Claire Edwardes. On behalf of the judges, Peter Czornyj, Director of Artistic Planning of the Sydney Symphony said, “We have seen four very accomplished performers with strong career proposals and each in their own way have something very special to offer. However, we can only award one fellowship and the decision was a difficult one. We agreed that Kristian Winther is the most outstanding candidate for the 2010 Freedman Fellowship for classical performers.”

“The generous funding from the Freedman Foundation will this year boost the career of an exceptional young musician in Kristian Winther. We expect that he will become one of Australia’s most outstanding and best know musicians. He joins our former Freedman Fellows such as Genevieve Lacey, Karin Schaupp, William Barton, Tamara Anna Cislowska, Geoffrey Morris, Claire Edwardes, Joseph Tawadros and Timothy Constable.” Richard Letts, Executive Director, Music Council of Australia.

The prize money for the Fellowship, inaugurated in 2001, is $15,000 cash and consultations to assist with non-musical aspects of career-building, as well as active support from Music Council personnel during the Fellowship period.

Established in 1998 by Laurence and Kathy Freedman, The Freedman Foundation also supports visual artists, Australian youth projects, and scientific and medical research.

2007 Freedman Classical Fellow

Timothy Constable

The Music Council of Australia and Freedman Foundation are delighted to announce Timothy Constable as the winner of the 2007 MCA/Freedman Fellowship for Classical Music.

Timothy, a percussion player from Sydney, pursues a vigorous career as a percussionist, composer and electronica producer.

2006 Freedman Classical Fellow

Joseph Tawadros

The Music Council of Australia and Freedman Foundation are delighted to announce Joseph Tawadros as the winner of the 2006 MCA/Freedman Fellowship for Classical Music. Joseph, an oud (Middle Eastern lute) player from Sydney, was born in Cairo in 1983. Immigrating to Australia in 1986 he brought with him a musical tradition inherited from his grandfather, a composer and oud and violin virtuoso.

2005 Freedman Classical Fellow

CLAIRE EDWARDES

Claire Edwardes, a Sydney percussionist, was born in 1975 and studied percussion at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music where she graduated in 1998 with first class honours. She went on to undertake postgraduate studies at the Rotterdam and Amsterdam Conservatories where she graduated in 2003 as a Master of Music with distinction.

2003 Freedman Classical Fellows

William Barton & Tamara Anna Cislowska

Joint winners of the 2003 MCA Freedman Fellowship for Classical Music were William Barton, a didgeridoo player from Brisbane, and pianist Tamara Anna Cislowska from Sydney.

2002 Freedman Classical Fellow

Karin Schaupp

Karin Schaupp's guitar training began at the age of five and she first performed in public the following year. While still in her teens she won prizes at international competitions in Lagonegro (Italy) and Madrid, where she was also awarded the special competition prize for the Best Interpretation of Spanish Music.

2001 Freedman Classical Fellow

Genevieve Lacey

Genevieve Lacey is acclaimed as a recorder virtuoso. She performs repertoire spanning nine centuries with commanding passion. She has recorded multiple CDs including Il Flauto Dolce which won the 2001 ARIA for Best Classical Recording.

2001 (Announcing First) Freedman Classical Fellow

Genevieve Lacey

The extraordinary recorder virtuoso Genevieve Lacey has won the new Music Council of Australia/ Freedman Foundation Fellowship in classical music.

The Fellowship has been established to support top Australian musicians up to 35 years of age to take their next career step -- generally envisaged to be a move towards an international career. This certainly is Genevieve Lacey's objective. She tours Europe as soloist with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and Andreas Scholl later this year. She will take the opportunity to invite reviewers and potential presenters and lay the basis for securing future European engagements.


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