The Music Council of Australia and Freedman Foundation are delighted to announce the winner of the 2007 MCA/Freedman Fellowship for Jazz.
The winner is Sydney singer, Kristin Berardi.
Kristin was the winner of the 2006 International Jazz Voice Competition held at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and has been invited to appear at Montreux again next month. Born in Koumala, Queensland, Kristin completed her musical studies at the Queensland Conservatorium. Since graduating she has been involved in the Wangaratta Jazz Festival, the Melbourne Women’s International Jazz Festival, a live appearance on ABC Radio National with the West End Composers’ Collective, and as a featured soloist alongside pop legend Chrissy Amphlett in Women in Voice 13. She has performed extensively at jazz festivals and jazz clubs throughout Australia and overseas. As a recording artist Kristin has worked in New York with American jazz piano legend Kenny Werner and trombonist Jim Pugh, and in Australia with James Sherlock, Mike Nock, James Muller, and Kate Miller-Heidke. Kristin lectures in jazz voice at the Australian National University in Canberra and has held the position of guest lecturer in jazz studies at the Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music in Mackay for the past three years. Kristin will release her first CD containing all original material later this year.
Kristin intends using the Fellowship to travel to New York to perform and record her own compositions with local arrangers and musicians.
The prize money for the Fellowship, now in its seventh year, is $20,000. The award comprises $15,000 cash, promotional materials up to $5,000, and consultations to assist with non-musical aspects of career-building, as well as active support from Music Council personnel during the Fellowship period. Previous winners are Andrea Keller (piano), Phil Slater (trumpet), Andrew Robson (saxophone) James Muller (guitar), Matt McMahon (piano) and Julien Wilson (saxophone).
The purpose of the Fellowship is to assist performers up to 36 years of age to further their careers and enhance their abilities as a jazz artist. Nominees propose a specific project to pursue their career objectives, either overseas or within Australia. Part of the judging process involves a public concert at the Sydney Opera House as well as well as an assessment of their proposed project and musical achievements.
The judges for 2007 are three of Australia’s most respected jazz musicians; Mark Isaacs, Kerrie Biddell and James Greening.
Established in 1998 by Laurence and Kathy Freedman, The Freedman Foundation also supports visual artists, Australian youth projects, and scientific and medical research.
The Music Council of Australia is a national music organisation representing the entire breadth of music in Australia.
For further information, please call Debbie McInnes on (02) 9550 9207 or 0412 818 071, or email debbie [at] dmcpr.com.au