2026 Music Prize Winners with Dr Tonya Lemoh and Jonathan Paget. Image: Kylie Plunkett.
The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) celebrated some of its most talented and gifted students at the annual Music Prizes and Accolades Awards held for the first time at the McCusker Recital Hall at City Campus.
The event was not just a celebration of student achievement, but an opportunity to express gratitude to ECU's donor community whose collective generosity helps WAAPA's musicians of tomorrow pursue their dreams.
With scholarships and prizes valued at up to $25,000, recipients confirmed at Thursday's Music Prizes and Accolades event can now look forward to what's next, including invaluable opportunities to nurture their talent under the guidance of experts in their respective fields.
WAAPA Executive Dean Professor David Shirley said the Academy was proud to shine a spotlight on its donors and high achievers.
"This is an opportunity for the Academy to celebrate the benefits and opportunities that donors contribute to WAAPA and to students' education and training," Professor Shirley said.
"Donors and benefactors of WAAPA make an immense difference to all the students, and to the teaching and learning experience in that they enable transformative experiences so that students can achieve their very best.
"In that sense, these awards are inspirational and this event is a perfect opportunity to celebrate their generosity, to congratulate the students and to thank all of our wonderful donors."
Taking to the stage singing Endless Pleasure, joint winner of the coveted Barbara MacLeod Scholarship, Bridie King, showed why she was awarded as one of the two most outstanding female Classical Music students, along with international award-winning film music composer Lizzie Bliss. Awarded in honour of Captain Barbara MacLeod and valued at $25,000 each, the scholarships will help both rising female vocalists travel overseas to further their training.
Bridie King performing "Endless Pleasure" with Stewart Smith on piano. Image: Kylie Plunkett.
Another standout performance was by the inaugural recipient of the Lew and June Smith Jazz Vocal Memorial Scholarship, Cacharel Cavan.
Generously established this year by Marcus Harris, this new $10,000 scholarship honours the memory of two beloved figures in Perth's jazz community by supporting students demonstrating excellence and potential in modern jazz performance and the passion to become a professional performer.
Cacharel Cavan performing at the 2026 Music Accolades. Image: Kylie Plunkett.
Contemporary music student Jack Hamilton enchanted the audience with his prize winning original song, "You Still Think of Me".
Classical Percussion student, Otto Gibbs, took home a slew of accolades including the Norman Archibald Percussion Scholarship, the Haselhurst Family Scholarship for Classical Performance, the ROSL Orchestral Composition Competition, the W. Stanley Classical Prize and the Luigi Paulino Award for Excellence in Classical Percussion.
With so much talent on display, the Music Prizes and Accolades Awards once again highlighted the extraordinary calibre of WAAPA's students and the incredible generosity of the supporters who help them thrive. As recipients look ahead to the next chapter of their careers, they do so with the encouragement of a community that believes in the power of the arts to transform lives.
Left to right: Music prize winners, Cacharel Cavan, Carolenna Rogers and Bridie King. Image: Kylie Plunkett.
Congratulations to the 2026 WAAPA Music Prizes and Accolades winners:
- Barbara MacLeod Scholarship – Bridie King and Lizzie Bliss
- Contemporary Music Prize - Xanthe Bacon
- Contemporary Vocal Prize - Linus Lim
- Dame Mary Gilmore Award - Sienna Smith
- David Templeman and Carole Dhu Scholarships – Liesel Coetzee, Casey Czaja, Phoebe Mains and Shantelle Petrie
- Ellington Jazz Prize for Equity and Excellence - Carolenna Rogers and Georgia Dias
- Greg Benjamin Music Entrance Scholarship - Meng Yei lei
- Greg Benjamin Music Excellence Scholarship - Lachlan Edinger
- Greg Benjamin WAAPA Music Equity Scholarship – Skye Healy
- Haselhurst Family Scholarships - Mailli Eowyn Atkins, Otto Gibbs, Finley Hearn, Imogen Taylor and Matthew Wilson
- Inspiring Minds Equity Scholarships - Daniel Wilson, Otto Gibbs, Graciano III Palogan Gacutno
- James Alvin Elrick Dyson Piano Award - Shem Syofyan
- Lew and June Smith Jazz Vocal Memorial Prize - Cacharel Cavan
- Luigi Paulino Award for Excellence in Classical Percussion -Otto Gibbs
- Opera Lovers WA Aria Award - Olivia Muir
- Perth Symphony Orchestra Composer in Residence 2027 - Domenic Lammattina
- Peter Hurford Award - Jonah Golds
- Robert Toia Scholarship - Henry Corona
- Royal Over-Seas League (ROSL) Baroque Prize - Flynn Throssell, Noah Furtardo and Finlay Labuschagne
- ROSL Improvisation Prize - Jonah Golds, Finn McKibbin
- ROSL Original Song Competition Prize - Jack Hamilton
- UWA Choral Society Vocal Scholarship - Katelyn Cobb
- Warana Prize - Flynn Throssell
There are infinite possibilities when it comes to supporting WAAPA students and programs. To find out more visit giving.ecu.edu.au/support_waapa.
Left to right: Otto Gibbs and Jonathan Paget. Image: Kylie Plunkett.
