The ABC Young Performers Awards have been running since 1944. The competition has launched the career of some of Australia’s most successful musicians.<\/p>\n
Entries open for the ABC Young Performers Awards 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Do you know Australia’s next big star in classical music? For performers aged 31 and under, entries are now open for the ABC Young Performers Awards.<\/p>\n Many have achieved recognition on international stages, including composer and violist Brett Dean, pianist Simon Tedeschi, percussionist Claire Edwardes, violinist Emily Sun and more.<\/p>\n In 2026, the Young Performers Awards have returned to ABC Classic.<\/p>\n To find out what it’s like to be in the competition, we spoke to past winners about their preparation, journey through the rounds and the opportunities the awards unlocked.<\/p>\n Percussionist Claire Edwardes on preparing to competeLoading…<\/p>\n Claire Edwardes is one of Australia’s most recognisable percussionists.<\/p>\n She’s particularly respected for her work championing contemporary classical music by women and other marginalised voices.<\/p>\n Edwardes is the Artistic Director of contemporary classical group Ensemble Offspring.<\/p>\n She entered the competition in 1999 while waiting to start her postgraduate degree in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n “The competition gave me something to focus on and work towards,” Edwardes says.<\/p>\n In 1999, being a percussionist wasn’t something many aspiring musicians considered as a career choice, so Edwardes competed in a category known as “other instruments”.<\/p>\n But she went above and beyond to prepare her repertoire.<\/p>\n “I wrote out by hand a piano reduction of Joseph Schwantner’s Concerto for Percussion and orchestra, because it really showed the breadth of all the different things I was capable of,” Edwardes says.<\/p>\n She even sought some advice from Christopher Lamb, an American percussionist who premiered the music in 1995.<\/p>\n Edwardes won against serious contenders, including pianist Andrea Lam and violinist Alexandra Osborne, who are both also highly successful musicians today.<\/p>\n The percussionist spent the next seven years playing as a soloist with all of the symphony orchestras around Australia.<\/p>\n “That never would have happened if I hadn’t won the Young Performers Awards,” she says.<\/p>\n Violinist Emily Sun on how the competition boosted her careerLoading…<\/p>\n Emily Sun is an internationally sought-after violinist who regularly performs on some of the world’s most beautiful stages including here in Australia.<\/p>\n She first became known to audiences through the 2011 documentary Mrs Carey’s Concert, which followed a group of students preparing for a major performance at the Sydney Opera House.<\/p>\n Sun has a long history of involvement with the Young Performers Awards, being one of the finalists in 2011 and finally winning the competition in 2018.<\/p>\n “Winning the YPA [Young Performers Awards] marked a huge turning point for me in my performing career,” Sun says.<\/p>\n “It gave me the confidence and opportunities to perform across Australia in concerto, recital and chamber settings.”<\/p>\n As part of the prize, Sun became ABC Classic’s Artist in Residence, which included recording an album and appearing in features on air and digital platforms.<\/p>\n “I definitely came out of it as a different artist,” Sun says.<\/p>\n Her success has grown beyond the competition.<\/p>\n