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Pascoe Awards

The Eva Pascoe Award was created in 2023 by our Founding Patron, Dr Timothy Pascoe AM, in honour of his late wife of 56 years, the Polish pianist and music-lover Eva Pascoe.

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Sadly, Timothy died ten months after Eva and Australia lost two of our country's most significant philanthropists and supporters of the Arts, and HMCollective lost two dear friends, our advisers and Founding Patrons.

The Pascoes wished to inspire excellence in our region and nurture young talent. The Pascoe Awards (worth $4000) are an annual award available to classical musicians (aged 14 to 24) with connections to the Southern Highlands and surrounding areas.     

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Mrs Eva and Dr Timothy Pascoe AM

Auditions are held via video application, and a judging panel chooses up to six finalists to perform at the Finalists' Concert at Bowral Memorial Hall in November. All chosen finalists receive a Timothy Pascoe Encouragement Award, and one finalist is announced as the Eva Pascoe Award winner. 

2025 Eva Pascoe Award Winner

The annual Eva Pascoe Award winner receives $3000 plus mentorship and concert opportunities performing chamber music with Highlands Music Collective. We are thrilled to announce that our 2025 Eva Pascoe Award winner was recently chosen by judges Myee Clohessy, Aaron Smart, and Lisa Kawai as the exceptional young Wollongong flautist Annabel Wouters (16). 

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Photo by Peter Hislop
2025 Eva Pascoe Award winner flautist Annabel Wouters (16) performing at the Finalists' Concert at Bowral Memorial Hall.

​Annabel has performed numerous times in the Southern Highlands as part of Inspire Music Australia’s Emerging Concert Artist Series at St Jude's Church and as the Highlands FM's 100% Home-Grown Artist of the Month. ​A flute student at Wollongong Conservatorium, Annabel was the first flautist to win the WollCon Concerto Competition. She is currently in Year 12 and has completed her A.mus.A (with Distinction) on flute, A.Dip.A (Honours) on piano, and is presently preparing for L.Mus.A on flute and piano. In 2024, she travelled with the WollCon Flute Ensemble to the International Flute Convention in America and will travel this year to Europe with the Regional Youth Orchestra.

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Highlands Music Collective looks forward to presenting Annabel in our upcoming chamber music concert 'Birds of a Feather (are Better Together!), at the Bowral Memorial Hall on Friday, 21 February and Nowra School of Arts for Music Shoalhaven on Sunday, 4 May.  

Past Eva Pascoe Recipients

Pianist Luke Bowen was the 2024 Eva Pasacoe Award winner, aged nineteen. He has a diploma in music from the University of New England and is currently studying science at UNE and piano privately under Professor Robert Constable AM. As a frequent recitalist in the Emerging Artists series at St. Jude's Church in Bowral and a soloist with the Southern Highlands Symphony Orchestra, Luke has delighted audiences with his charming and virtuosic performances. In addition to his involvement in the Highlands, Luke has performed extensively in the Shoalhaven and Illawarra regions, appearing in Music Shoalhaven’s concert series and the Gerringong Music Club. 

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Photos by Peter Hislop
2024 Eva Pascoe Award Winner pianist Luke Bowen, performing at 'Vienna Gold' with the Highlands Music Collective at Bowral Memorial Hall

​Luke performed throughout 2024 with Highlands Music Collective at our Vienna Gold concert at the Bowral Memorial Hall, the Braille Music Camp Fundraiser at St Jude's Church, our Music Soireé at the Rose Recital Room, and a private home in Kangaroo Valley. Luke used his $3000 Eva Pascoe Award for public speaking courses and masterclasses with Robert Constable AM. 

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"​Winning the Eva Pascoe Award has been an incredible experience, particularly for the professional opportunities and connections it has brought me. I had the chance to rehearse and perform with some of the best instrumentalists in the region, receiving valuable, actionable feedback along the way. As someone with a largely solo background, gaining experience in chamber music has been one of the most important additions to my pianistic and musical skillset. My ability to collaborate, balance parts and listen within an ensemble has improved dramatically. Beyond the performance opportunities, the financial support from the award has been equally beneficial. It has allowed me to focus on honing my skills as a pianist without the financial strain of paying for lessons, competition fees and other professional development costs. I highly recommend the Eva Pascoe Award to any musician beginning their career."

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We are thrilled that Luke will join us again this year and perform with Annabel Wouter, Myee Clohessy and Catherine Barnett in Birds of a Feather (are Better Together!) â€‹â€‹â€‹

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Violinist Cedar-Rose Newman was the inaugural winner of the Eva Pascoe Award in 2023 at the age of 19. Originally from Wollongong, Cedar-Rose's journey as a musician has been nurtured by many over the years. Three particular influences in her life have been her piano teacher Gian-Franco Ricci, (with whom Cedar gained her Licentiate Diploma for Piano Performance in 2020), her violin mentor Ass. Prof. Goetz Richter at Sydney Conservatorium of Music and her first violin teacher, Sarah Hindson, in Wollongong.

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Photo by Peter Hislop
2023 Eva Pascoe Award Winner violinist Cedar Rose Newman & Highlands Music Collective performing at the Bowral Autumn Music Festival

Cedar-Rose's passion for music led her to New York at a young age, following an invitation to study with legendary Russian violinist Albert Markov. In 2019, Cedar won the Manhattan School of Music Pre-College String Concerto Competition and has participated successfully in several national and international competitions. In 2022, she was selected to attend Music at Menlo in San Francisco, a specialist chamber program for young string players worldwide. Cedar has been a semi-finalist in the Classicalia International Music Competition and a finalist in the Melbourne Bach Competition. She is currently on a President’s Scholarship, studying for a Bachelor of Performance Degree at the Manhattan School of Music with Lucie Robert. â€‹â€‹â€‹

Cedar has given many recitals in Australia, the United States and Europe, made solo appearances with the Steel City Strings and the Southern Highlands Symphony Orchestra, and was a Young Recitalist at the 2017 Bowral Autumn Music Festival, performing at the Mittagong Playhouse.


​As winner of the 2023 Eva Pascoe Award, Cedar performed as soloist with Highlands Music Collective Piazzolla’s virtuosic ‘Four Seasons of Buenos Aires’ at the Bowral Autumn Music Festival, Wollongong Art Gallery and Wesley Music Centre in Canberra. We were thrilled that Cedar could perform Ysaye Solo Sonata No 2 at the 2024 Pascoe Awards while the judges decided. Cedar used her $3000 Eva Pascoe Award to perform and record with renowned concert pianist Simon Tedeschi. ABC's Ed Le Brocq recently interviewed Cedar about her life and new recording of Bolch's Violin Sonata.​

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Photo by Peter Hislop
2023 Eva Pascoe Award Winner violinist Cedar Rose Newman with Patron Dr Timothy Pascoe AM at the Bowral Autumn Music Festival

Timothy Pascoe Encouragement Awards

To acknowledge the tremendous talent and commitment to classical music our young finalists have achieved, we give out Timothy Pascoe Encouragement Awards to each musician who performs at the Finalists' Concert at Bowral Memorial Hall.

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We are very proud of the dedication of these young musicians and acknowledge the hard work they have put into achieving such a high level of playing. Highlands Music Collective hopes to inspire them to continue aiming high with their music studies and wish them the best of luck with their musical paths. Past recipients of the Timothy Pascoe Encouragement Awards are:

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2025 Timothy Pascoe Encouragement Awards:

Hanna Lee, violin (18); Fin Torpy, flute (19); Charlotte Blake, flute; Oscar Dunn-Luck, piano; Robert Nelson, piano.

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2024 Timothy Pascoe Encouragement Award winners: 
Sophie Chen, piano (17); Charlotte Black, flute (17); Oscar Dunn-Luck, piano (17); Samantha Roberts, flute (18); Fin Torpy, flute (18)

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2025 Pascoe Award Finalists -
Hanna Lee, violin; Fin Torpy, flute;
Charlotte Blake, flute; Oscar Dunn-Luck, piano;
Annabel Wouter, fute, Robert Nelson, piano.

 

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2024 Pascoe Award Finalists -
Cedar Rose Newman, violin; Sophie Chen, piano; Luke Bowen, piano; Charlotte Black, flute;
Oscar Dunn-Luck, piano; Samantha Roberts, flute; Fin Torpy, flute

DON'T MISS THIS YEAR'S PASCOE AWARDS
FRIDAY 9 NOVEMBER, 6.30 PM
BOWRAL MEMORIAL HALL 

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©2024 by Highlands Music Collective.

ABN 9 067 0515 303

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