CONTENT COURTESY FREEDMAN CLASSICAL FELLOWSHIP
Three exceptional finalists have been selected to compete for The Music Trust’s 2022 Freedman Classical Fellowship, after an extensive search for Australia’s most creative classical musicians aged 35 and under.
The 2022 Freedman Classical Fellowship finalists are NSW harpist Emily Granger, and Queensland violists Henry Justo and Katie Yap, chosen from the 16 national candidates vying for the sought-after $21,000 prize.
The exceptional young musicians studied at leading music schools including Australian National Academy of Music, The University of Queensland, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, and Chicago College of Performing Arts.
The 2022 finalists were put forward by leading classical musicians from around Australia. This year’s judging panel includes Professor Kim Cunio (head of ANU School of Music), Kirsty McCahon (Australia’s leading practitioner of historical performance practice, contra bass) and Dr Stephen Mould (senior lecturer at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and artistic director of the Conservatorium Opera). In a combined statement, the judges said:
“The finalists selected are a wonderful reflection of the depth and diversity of music making in Australia today. Never before has Australian music had such an important role in helping to define who and what Australia is. With that in mind, these outstanding and highly creative young artists signal that the future of Australian classical music is in very good hands.”
The Freedman Classical Fellowship is a life-changing award offered annually to young Australian classical musicians. The fellowship began in 2001, and has since helped to establish the careers of some of Australia’s most distinguished classical artists. 2021 saw Victorian violinist Kyla Matsuura-Miller secure the coveted fellowship. The Tokyo-born Melbourne-raised powerhouse violinist graduated from the Australian National Academy of Music. Kyla joins the ranks of the long and esteemed list of previous Fellows including Genevieve Lacey, William Barton, Joseph Tawadros, Claire Edwardes and Eugene Ughetti.
The winner of the 2022 Freedman Classical Fellowship will be selected and awarded at a deciding final, a live public concert before esteemed judges at 3pm July 30 in the Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House.
Meet the finalists and their projects
Emily Granger (in our featured image, credit Keith Saunders) is an American-Australian harpist who effortlessly straddles the worlds of classical, popular, and art music, including glittering appearances with Yo-Yo Ma, Sarah Blasko, and Renée Fleming. Emily has appeared as Guest Principal Harpist with the Chicago, Sydney, and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras as well as chamber performances with Ensemble Offspring, Omega Ensemble and Nexas Quartet. Her debut solo album, In Transit (UK-based AVIE Records), was featured by Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, ABC Classic and 2MBS Fine Music Sydney.
For her proposed Freedman project, Emily will commission and premiere a new harp concerto from long-time collaborator, composer Tristan Coelho. This three-movement work will be premiered in Sydney with Ensemble Apex and in Houston, Texas with Rice University’s Shepherd School Contemporary Ensemble, as a guest performer.
Henry Justo (pictured below, credit Hayato Simpson) is a violist hailing from Brisbane, now based between Hobart and Germany. He plays with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and a Master of Music student with Volker Jacobsen at HMTM Hannover. Justo’s ability to bring out “the rich, earthy timbres of the viola” was described as “stunning” by Limelight Magazine. He has performed with the Sydney Chamber Opera, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Offspring, Inventi Ensemble and Ensemble Apex, working with mentors Michele Walsh, Roger Benedict and Caroline Henbest.
Henry’s proposed fellowship project explores interactions between the individual and the tech-laden world which we all fumble through daily. A program of works for viola and electronics, including commissioned works from Cathy Milliken and Yannis Kyriakides, will be developed with media artist Mike Daly to create a seamless performance and an evocative musical journey.
Katie Yap (pictured below, credit Darren James) performs at the highest level in both modern and historically-informed ensembles including the Australian World Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Van Diemen’s Band, Academy of Ancient Music, UK. Her greatest love is chamber music, and she is the artistic director of Wattleseed Ensemble and 3MBS’ Women In Music Festival – She Wrote, and a founding member and the Chrysalis Harp Trio, and prog-baroque quartet Croissants & Whiskey. In her own projects, Katie explores the nexus of folk, baroque, and new music styles, and a life-long fascination with improvisation.
Katie Yap’s Freedman project Multitudes will launch her into the field of creation. Through collaborative composition and improvisation, she and her collaborators (Emily Sheppard, Donald Nicolson, Bowerbird Collective and Mindy Meng Wang) will create four new works based on Judith Wright’s bird poems, which they will film, and then perform in a residency at Tempo Rubato.
About the Freedman Classical Fellowship
The Freedman Classical Fellowship is funded by The Freedman Foundation, a philanthropic foundation centered on assisting young Australians in music and visual arts, as well as providing support to medical and scientific programs — chaired by Laurence Freedman AM and Kathy Freedman AM. The Fellowships are managed by The Music Trust and administered by the Sydney Improvised Music Association. For more information, visit The Music Trust website.
2022 Freedman Classical Fellowship — Live Concert and Deciding Final take place from 3-6pm July 30, Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House.
Images supplied.
