Applications are now open for the ABC Young Performers Awards. Image: Ayako/Unsplash.
CLASSICAL MUSIC – Australia’s most prestigious classical music competition, the ABC Young Performers Awards, return in 2026. Across three high-stakes rounds, this career-launching competition will uncover Australia’s most exceptional young instrumentalists, culminating in a spectacular Grand Final performance at the Sydney Opera House, which will be televised on ABC TV and broadcast on ABC Classic.
In Round One, applicants will be required to submit video performances that will be presented to the adjudication panel. The panel will select 12 semi-finalists to progress to Round Two, which will take place as live performances across several capital cities in Australia. From the 12 semi-finalists, three will be selected to perform a concerto with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the grand final in November 2026.
Alannah Sue is a writer, editor, theatre critic and content creator with a passion for arts and culture and all that glitters. She relocated to Melbourne in 2025 after spending over a decade embedded in the Sydney arts landscape and finishing up her tenure as Arts & Culture Editor at Time Out. In addition to contributing to ArtsHub and ScreenHub, her freelance portfolio also expands to editorial and copywriting for lifestyle and arts publications such as Limelight and Urban List, cultural institutions like the Sydney Opera House, and marketing and publicity services for independent artists.
She is always keen to take a chance on weird performance art, theatre of all kinds, out-of-the-box exhibitions, queer venues, and cheap Prosecco. Give her half a chance, and she will get on a soapbox when it comes to topics like the magic of musical theatre, the importance of rigorous arts criticism, and the global cultural implications of the RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise. Connect with Alannah on Instagram: @alannurgh.
