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Music and Opera Singers Trust

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Since 1982, Music & Opera Singers Trust Ltd (MOST®) has been creating and managing elite music and opera competitions, awards and scholarships in Australasia to promote excellence and invest in our cultural future.

In 1982 MOST® launched the Marianne Mathy Scholarship that later evolved into the Australian Singing Competition (aussing.org) for classical and opera singers under the age of 26 years. Now known as the IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition in recognition of patron Dr Haruhisa Handa and the International Foundation of Arts & Culture (IFAC), the IFAC Handa ASC still features the Marianne Mathy Scholarship (‘The Mathy’) as the ultimate award within what has become the most recognised competition for young opera singers in our region.

In 1986 MOST® created the Opera Awards (operawards.org) to acknowledge professional opera singers. Since 2007 the Opera Awards has featured the YMFA Award (sponsored by the Youth Music Foundation of Australia) and the Armstrong-Martin Scholarship (sponsored by the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust). Entries in the 2019 Opera Awards will open on 20 May.

In 2016 MOST® took carriage of the Young Performers Awards (youngperformersawards.org), the most prestigious multi-instrumental competition in Australia.

In addition to these various competitions, over the years MOST® has offered individual awards, scholarships and grants to support musicians, conductors and repetiteurs.

The 2024 ABC Young Performers Awards will return to a live format with entries being submitted digitally, but the Semi Finals and Finals being held live with audience. The Semi Finals will be held in the Eugene Goossens Hall in Sydney (Semi Finalists will bring their own accompanists) and the Finals will be held in Brisbane with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. 

2024/2021 YPA Schedule
  • Entries open: 1 July 2024
  • Entries close: 28 October 2024
  • Late entries: 30 October 2024
  • Semi Finalists Announced: 25 November 2024       
  • Semi Finals (Sydney): 17-20 February 2025
  • Finals (Brisbane): Wednesday 30 April 2025

If you have any further questions, please reach out to teammanager@mostlyopera.org

If you have any technical questions, please visit the Acceptd Applicant Support Help Desk.