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Patrons Jayson Gillham • Emily Sun • David Griffiths
News
Joshua Han (2025 National finalist) fulfilled his 2025 prize at The Athenaeum Club in Melbourne today (February 13), performing a recital of Beethoven and Chopin sonatas. The standing ovation at the end said it all. Simply astonishing playing from a talented pianist this competition has grown to respect so much. Fingers crossed, Joshua will return this year!
Joshua was one of 30 selected worldwide as a finalist in the 2026 Ljubljana Piano Competition.
Congratulations Matthew Kweh (2024 Regional winner) Matthew has been awarded LMusA in piano and AMusA in violin.
A great achievement for Matthew, senior student at The Geelong College and already an accomplished musician. Fingers crossed, we may see Matthew in the AYCMC again in 2025! (And we did!)
UPDATE: Matthew was placed Second in the 2025 Regional Final - Congratulations!
UPDATE: Matthew Won the 2025 Musical Society of Geelong Competition!
Michael Liu (2024 National finalist). I'm still studying overseas in Leipzig, Germany, and I'm currently in my second year of Bachelors! All is well here, enjoyed the amazing European summer where I spent it up in the mountains of Lugano, Switzerland, attending the Ticino Musica Festival and had masterclasses as well as performed with Ivan Podyomov, the Principal Oboist of the Koninlijk Concertgebouw. Recently, I made my way to Brisbane, Queensland where I participated in the Australasian Double Reed Society Competition, and was fortunate enough to be awarded 1st place in the Elite Section!
Michael in Leipzig March 2026
Congratulations Jude Holland (2025 National finalist) Jude was selected to the 12 semi-finalists of the RPM (Russian Piano Music) International Competition in San Remo, Italy last year. An amazing achievement in this highly prized international competition. Jude did not make the final 3, but getting as far as he did as well as being asked to perform at the finals concert is testament to his amazing talent. The AYCMC was proud to have Jude as a finalist in the 2025 National competition.
Donica Tran (2024 National winner) has been studying in Austria at the Anton Bruckner Privatuniversität where she was generously given a loan of a Giovanni Battista Guadagnini violin made in 1750. She was also invited to perform in the Boyne Music Festival in Ireland and plays regularly as a substitute in the Brucknerorchester. She will continue to study into next year and is thoroughly enjoying life on a different continent but also missing home dearly.
Jingyang Huang (2022 Regional winner) completed Year 12 at Geelong Grammar and was accepted into the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music where he currently studies under Konstantin Shamray. Earlier this year Jingyang attended a concert by his teacher and was given a "special" seat! - right beside Konstantin, as page turner. Steep learning curve!
Dindin Wang (2025 National winner) is in her fifth year at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and has just won the first prize of the 2025 Hengqin International Mozart Violin Competition Group C category, which was held in China this September. Next May Dindin will graduate with her Bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music.
Ari Volovelsky said after two years at ANAM, I’m starting a trial with MSO. I’m just in my first week off now. I’m scheming to fill Australia with saucy recitals and chamber music, and just find the upper limit of how well I can play the cello. I’m keen to represent Australia in my playing and open to learn from others at competitions and festivals around the world. I participated in the Schoenfeld International Strings Competition in Harbin, receiving a scholarship from the Schoenfeld Foundation.
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