Freedman Fellowships

THE MCA FREEDMAN FELLOWSHIPS

The MCA Freedman Fellowships Program was inaugurated in 2001, a joint initiative of the Music Council of Australia and the Freedman Foundation. Two Fellowships are awarded annually, one to a classical instrumentalist, and one to a jazz musician. Each Fellowship is worth $15,000 as well as ongoing support from the Music Council of Australia. Read more...

The new manager for the Fellowship program is Jo Smith. Jo is an experienced manager and film producer. She is the executive of the Australian Guild of Screen Composers and has organised the Screen Music Awards, the Johnny Dennis Music Awards for nine years and the Australian Screen Directors Awards for four. Guest speakers have included Sydney Pollack, Wim Wenders and Peter Weir.

THE MUSIC COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA FREEDMAN MUSIC FELLOWSHIPS FOR 2010

Ben Hauptmann Wins the 2010 MCA Freedman Jazz Fellowship

A performance described as "beautiful music with a surprise around every corner" by MCA head, Richard Letts, captured the 2010 MCA Freedman Jazz Fellowship for Melbourne-based jazz guitarist, Ben Hauptmann.

Ben competed for the $15,000 cash fellowship in a musical shoot-out with singer Gian Slater (Melbourne), pianist Jackson Harrison (Sydney) and conductor/composer Mace Francis (Perth).

Four stand-out performances was seen by over 300 jazz enthusiasts at a standing room only concert at The Studio at the Sydney Opera House last night, 9 August. Read more ...

Photo: 2010 Freedman Jazz finalists from left: Mace Francis (Perth), Ben Hauptmann (Melbourne), Gian Slater (Melbourne) and Jackson Harrison (Sydney). The MC for the concert, Craig Scott, commented how supportive the performers were of each other.

The 2010 Freedman Fellowship for Classical Music

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.

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.” Read more...