Cherry Blossoms sold out. Next up: the Pascoe Awards
A full house for Cherry Blossoms.
Next up, the exciting Pascoe Awards!
Dear HMCollective Supporters,
Thank you to everyone who attended the Cherry Blossoms concert at Bowral Memorial Hall on Friday, 4 September. We loved preparing this event and sincerely appreciate all who joined and supported us. We’re proud to share that it was our second sold-out concert of the year, and we even had a waitlist! It’s so wonderful to witness our HMCollective community grow and come together to experience the joy of live chamber music.
Don’t miss our next exciting Pascoe Awards concert, featuring six inspiring young musicians who have earned themselves an invitation to perform as soloists at Bowral Memorial Hall. It will be a night to remember, so book now!
Cherry Blossoms: our largest collaboration to date.
This concert highlighted the immense talent we have in the Southern Highlands. The concert began with Lili Boulanger’s celebration of Spring’s vitality, performed by HMCollective cellist Catherine Barnett, violinist Myee Clohessy, and pianist Lisa Kawai. The wonderful soprano Alison Robertson then joined them for a selection of English pastoral songs by Roger Quilter. The core of the program, however, drew on Japanese traditional folk songs honouring the beauty of the ‘Sakura' cherry blossoms, sung by the Zephyr Ensemble and conducted by Ethan Ireland and Jillian Bridge,
To add to the evening’s delights were two stunning world premieres, a piano trio by local composer Oscar Dunn-Luck (a recipient of three Pascoe Encouragement Awards), titled ‘As wind murmurs through cherry blossoms', and a reading of ‘September Song’, written by imminent local poet Mark Tredinnick OAM (winner of the Montreal International Poetry Prize and the Cardiff International Poetry Competition). The mix of glorious music, lyrical poetry, song, a pink cherry blossom tree, wine, sushi, and joyful mingling in the foyer made for a night we will long remember!
“Congratulations on an extraordinary concert last night with beautiful programming and exemplary musicianship. A truly wonderful night. What a fabulous thing you have created!'' (audience member)
Photos by Brian Rapsey - Rhapsody Pictures
Next up: The Pascoe Awards Finalists’ Concert
Photo by John Swainston of Annabel Wouters (18yrs), the 2025 Eva Pascoe Award recipient
THE PASCOE AWARDS Friday 13 November 2026, 6.30pm Bowral Memorial Hall
Complimentary refreshments
From 5:40 pm
Tickets are selling fast, so get yours now to help us cheer on these young musicians!
Kindly sponsored by Arts National Bowral District.
The annual Pascoe Awards are HMCollective’s most significant event of the year, highlighting our mission to support and encourage young musicians and give talented instrumentalists concert exposure.
Applications are open to exceptional young instrumentalists aged 14 to 24 who have a connection to the Southern Highlands or surrounding regions.
Three judges, Myee Clohessy (strings), Aaron Smart (winds), and Natalie Wood (piano), will select six talented young musicians and invite them to perform as soloists at the Pascoe Awards Finalists’ Concert on Friday, 13 November.
At the conclusion of the concert, the Judges will announce the following prizes:
Eva Pascoe Award - $3,000 stipend to the most outstanding performer. The prize includes chamber music mentoring and performing opportunities in our 2027 Concert Series.
Timothy Pascoe Award - $1,000 to the most outstanding Southern Highlands musician, with performance opportunities in 2027.
Pascoe Encouragement Awards - $300 to each of the other Finalists.
In addition, Inspire Music has kindly offered one of our Pascoe Finalists the chance to perform in their Emerging Artists Series at St Jude’s Church in Bowral and the Wollongong Art Gallery.
We are most grateful to our Principal Sponsor, Arts National Bowral District, Inspire Music, Wingecarribee Shire Council, Highlands General Practice, and our generous Tier Donors and Friends of HMCollective for supporting the Pascoe Awards.
Highlands Music Collective admin@hmcollective.com.au hmcollective.com.au | Facebook
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