20 April 2018
In March of this year, more than 100 hopeful Australian instrumentalists from around the country and all over the world sent in their digital auditions for the 2018 ABC Young Performers Awards. Dene Olding AM, Chair of the Adjudication Panel and Artistic Advisor, assembled an impressive group of Adjudicators, many of whom were past winners of the YPA, who spent four weeks assessing the entries and compiling a short list for each category.
On Wednesday 18th April, those short lists were viewed by a new panel who convened at the ABC Studios in Ultimo. After more than nine hours of rigorous adjudication, the 12 Semi Finalists were selected. They are:
• Anna Da Silva Chen, Violin, 21
• Stefanie Farrands, Viola, 29
• Waynne (Woo Seok) Kwon, Cello, 22
• Andrew Lebedev, Guitar, 26
• Shaun Hern Lee, Piano, 16
• Tony Lee, Piano, 26
• Robin Reza, Piano, 23
• Oliver Shermacher, Clarinet, 22
• Riley Skevington, Violin, 25
• Emily Sun, Violin, 29
• Benett Tsai, Cello, 14
• Victoria Wong, Violin, 19
What now lies ahead for these talented young instrumentalists is three months of intensive preparation and excitement as they head towards the Semi-Finals recital series at the City Recital Hall in Sydney on 16th and 17th of July. Each Semi-Finalist will perform a thrilling 45-minute public recital of virtuosic and popular works all in the hope of being named one of only three Finalists who will go on to perform at the Opera House with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
Tickets are available to individual recitals or as one and two-day passes.
Previous winners include Lee Wei Qin, Simon Tedeschi, and Diana Doherty – who might you hear play in this year’s YPA?
PERFORMANCE ORDER
MONDAY 16 JULY
12PM – DAY 1 CONCERT 1
Stefanie Farrands Viola
Anna Da Silva Chen Violin
4PM – DAY 1 CONCERT 2
Robbin Reza Piano
Tony Lee Piano
7PM – DAY 1 CONCERT 3
Victoria Wong Violin
Emily Sun Violin
TUESDAY 17 JULY
12PM – DAY 2 CONCERT 1
Andrey Lebedev Classical Guitar
Oliver Shermacher Clarinet
4PM – DAY 2 CONCERT 2
Benett Tsai Cello
Waynne Kwon Cello
7PM – DAY 2 CONCERT 3
Shuan Hern Lee Piano
Riley Skevington Violin