Freedman Classical Fellowship Finals

Three exceptional musicians have been selected to participate in the finals of the 2023 Freedman Classical Fellowship. They are violinist Courtenay Cleary 29, from Queensland, violist Henry Justo 28, also from Queensland and flautist Jonty Coy 27, from Western Australia.

The winner will be selected after deciding finals concert adjudicated by a judging panel comprising Professor Kim Cunio (Head of ANU School of Music), Lamorna Nightingale (member of one of Australia’s leading ensembles, Ensemble Offspring), and Simon Tedeschi (pianist and author). The finals performance will be streamed live online. See ticketing link.

The Freedman Classical Fellowship invites the best musicians under 35 in Australia to envision projects of significant scale to the value of $21,000, proposing career-defining projects, ranging from multidisciplinary concerts and large ensemble commissions to international professional development and innovative recording projects.

Since 2001, The Freedman Fellowship has successfully identified the future leaders of new music & contemporary classical music. Past Fellows include luminaries like Genevieve Lacey (2001), Karin Schaupp (2002), William Barton (2003), Claire Edwardes (2005), Joseph Tawadros (2006), Aviva Endean (2015), and Rohan Dasika (2019) and Katie Yap (2022).

The finalists and their projects:

Courtenay Cleary is a leading Australian violinist who has lived and worked in New York and London. Since returning to Brisbane, she has performed in many major music festivals. Courtenay has developed a significant curatorial presence with her popular ‘Courtenay and Friends’ concert series. Impressively for one so young, she was recently appointed to the faculty of the University of Queensland. Cleary’s Fellowship project proposal showcases Australian music for violin both locally and overseas. Additionally, she would inspire young instrumentalists and composers to explore contemporary styles of classic through workshops and masterclasses at The Royal Academy of Music, Juilliard, and local schools in Brisbane.

 Henry Justo was a Freedman Classical Fellowship finalist in 2023. He has a wide-ranging appetite for all kinds of music at a very high level of sophistication. He is “inspired by the infinite possibilities of human interaction with sound” and can execute creative multidisciplinary projects with flair and passion. Henry’s proposed fellowship Connect is a curated installation piece reflecting on how each connect with place and ourselves. Working with composer Cathy Milliken and media artist Mike Daly in a collaborative process, they will together explore the human need for connection to where we are in the world.

Jonty Coy is an Australian flautist specialising in historical performance practice. He holds a master’s degree in Early Music from the Royal Conservatory in the Hague, and a Bachelor of Philosophy (Hons) from the UWA Conservatorium of Music in Perth, Western Australia. He has appeared as a soloist, orchestral and chamber musician with numerous prestigious ensembles and professional choirs in both Australia and the Netherlands. Jonty’s proposed Fellowship The Warder Flute is a new commission for renaissance flute and electronics also by Australian composer Kate Milligan. He proposes to present and tour this new work at multiple venues across Australia and in the Netherlands, alongside a program of historically appropriate repertoire.

The Freedman Classical Fellowship is funded by The Freedman Foundation, a philanthropic foundation centred 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 SIMA.

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