Freedman Classical Fellowship Announces 2021 Finalists

The $21,000 prize will be awarded on Friday, November 19

Conceived by Laurence Freedman and Dr. Richard Letts, the Freedman Classical Fellowship is annually awarded to Australian classical musicians under 30.

Nominees must submit recordings of their musical performances and describe their career-building project(s) which they will carry out with the support of the prize.

The Music Trust’s Freedman Classical Fellowship 2021 finalists are:

• Double bassist Will Hansen, 24

• Violist Molly Collier-O’Boyle, 27

• Violinist Kyla Matsuura-Miller, 28

• Flutist Eliza Shephard, 28

The finalists were selected from a pool of 16 candidates who were nominated by leading classical musicians from around Australia.

The 2021 judges panel comprised of Penny Lomax, Tamara Cislowska, and Veronique Serret.

"We all agreed it is inspiring to see such creatively diverse and ambitious projects," said judge Penny Lomax, "particularly as they were derived during the enormous difficulties posed by the COVD-19 pandemic. This has not appeared to dim the resourcefulness and originality of the participants. With this generation, Australia's musical future is in great hands!"