National Section  

The purpose of the National section is to encourage young people to aspire to excellence in music and to further this aim, the National First Prize winner receives a $20,000 Overseas Travel Scholarship sponsored by the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust. Second Prize of $5,000 sponsored by the Athenaeum Club and the Young Artists Trust, and a Third Prize of $3,000 are also awarded, plus a participation award and Audience Prize.

Eight National finalists are chosen to perform at the National Final by a panel of adjudicators from Melbourne Universities. Auditions are submitted by video.

To enter the National Section, participants must be solo classical musicians aged between 17 and 25 years as at the 1st of February and an Australian citizen or a permanent resident of Australia. 

Meet the adjudicators: Eliza Shephard (flute), Richard Narroway (cello) & Laurence Matheson (piano).