31 July 2026
July Community Wrap-Up
July was a mammoth month for the AYO community. From all ends of the nation and ends of the orchestra, AYO alumni take the wind in their stride and make impact across the world.
Who, what, where
AYO musicians, Andy Lin (2023-2026), Noah Lawrence (2018 – 2026) and Rio Kawaguchi (2019 – 2025) joined internationally acclaimed cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason in a masterclass at the Sydney Opera House (credit: Cassandra Hannagan)
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AYO French Horn participant (NMC, Flagship), Jethro Llewellyn has been appointed Associate Principal Horn of the Darwin Symphony Orchestra.
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AYO participants Adina Lopez, Ben Rawlings, Oliver Ivey Brown and Caleb Christian performed at the 50th National Australian Labor Party Conference in Adelaide with singer-songwriter Nathan May.
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Congratulations to Adam Szabo (AYO 2009 – 2012) who has been announced as Managing Director of ANAM from 2027.
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Violinist Siobhan Makinson has been announced as a finalist for the 2026 Vose Memorial Concerto Competition following the semi-finals on Monday 27 July at the UWA Conservatorium of Music.
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Alumnus Aaron Wyatt has been awarded the Australian Academy of Humanities’ 2026 John Mulvaney Fellowship.
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AYO Harp, Composition and 2026 Media and Communication Fellow, Paul Nicolaou and AYO Violin and 2026 Youth Council member, Hanuelle Lovell have announced they are embarking on national tours.
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Congratulations to participant Juah Hyun and alumna Lily Dai, who were named the 2026 Junior and Senior Winners (respectively) of the NSW Doctors Orchestra Scholarship on Saturday 18 July.
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A number of AYO participants and alumni are performing at the Australian Festival of Chamber Music in Cairns, including alumna and Brave New Worlds soloist Charlotte Miles. The 2026 AFCM Fellowship Ensemble, the Orpheus Quintet features AYO musicians Kara Thorpe, Gahyun Lee, Justin Wang, Dylan Roberts, Jude Austen Kaupe. The 2026 ACFM Pathways cohort, directed by alumnus Lloyd van’t Hoff, includes the Montana Quartet (Sofia Tortorelli, Sarah Chiu, Sterling Rieck, Rowan Oliver Parr), Quintet Evergreen (Karen Chen, Stephanie Sheridan), Marigold Trio (Hannah Grogan, Jennifer Li, Charlotte He), Cedar Quartet (Jessica Leigh, Sara Barbagallo, Edmund Mantelli), The IncrediBows (Eric Kim, Holly Shelton) and Hanuelle Lovell.
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AYO alumni Andy Firth, Beth Roche, Philip Eames, Phillip Cullen and Sophia Mackson have been announced as Australian Music Centre Associate Artists. Alumna and staff member Beth Roche is also participating in the Cortona Sessions for New Music in the Netherlands.
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The 2026 National Strike A Chord Finalists include ATC Trio (Ellie Kyoung), The Celeste Quartet (Alanna Kennedy, Annika Ganesh, Sherry Cheng), Elija Quartet (Ellie Kyoung), JMPS Ensemble Sonore (Hue Tan), Kingussie Trio (Gabriel Liu), Led Trio (Emma Li, Liuen Park), Quartet Avenoir (Samuel Hooper, Liam Beak, Juah Hyun, Jun Gardiner), Quatuor Fabriqués (Kieran Lin, Jun Gardiner) and Vanta Quartet (Haruki Muramatsu).
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Alumnus Ezra Uxó Williams has been awarded the prestigious Ramsay Postgraduate Scholarship for his Master of Orchestral Instruments at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Germany.
