The Australian Music Foundation [AMF] is a charitable foundation, first established in the United Kingdom, with the chief purpose of providing financial support to outstanding young Australian musicians who wish to pursue post-graduate music courses in leading music education institutions around the globe. It also offers performance opportunities in Australia and abroad, advice and mentoring to awardees.

At inception, the AMF’s activities were centred on the UK, reflecting a historical tradition of strong institutional links between Australian music academies and British institutions such as the Royal College of Music

Royal College of Music

The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...

, Royal Academy of Music

Royal Academy of Music

The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...

, the Royal Northern College of Music

Royal Northern College of Music

The Royal Northern College of Music is a music school in Manchester, England. It is located on Oxford Road in Chorlton on Medlock, at the western edge of the campus of the University of Manchester and is one of four conservatories associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music...

 and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama

Guildhall School of Music and Drama

Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...

. In recent years the AMF has more actively expanded its field of activity to include North America, Europe, and South East Asia.

History

The AMF was initially established by Deed of Trust declared on 30 December 1975, in the United Kingdom, the original Trustees being Baron Goodman, The Hon. Sir Davies Hughes, Mr Robert Norman, Group Cpt Douglas Bader

Douglas Bader

Group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader CBE, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar, FRAeS, DL was a Royal Air Force fighter ace during the Second World War. He was credited with 20 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared probable and 11 enemy aircraft damaged.Bader joined the...

, Mr Sam Lynn, and Mr Guy Parsons. The first awards were made in 1980.

In 2006 an Australian Trust to support the work of the AMF was created under the name of "The AMF Australia Foundation".

The Australian Music Foundation (UK)

Patron-in-Chief: HRH The Prince of Wales KG

Patron: HE Mr John Dauth

John Dauth

John Cecil Dauth, AO LVO is an Australian diplomat. He has been the Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom since 2008....

 LVO

President: Lord Carrington KG

Joint Life Presidents: Dame Joan Sutherland DBE, Richard Bonynge

Richard Bonynge

Richard Alan Bonynge, AO, CBE is an Australian conductor and pianist.Bonynge was born in Sydney and educated at Sydney Boys High School before studying piano at the Royal College of Music in London. He gave up his music scholarship, continuing his private piano studies, and became a coach for...

 CBE, Sir Charles Mackerras CH AC CBE, Dr Peter Andry, OBE, OAM

Chairman (Board of Trustees): Mrs Heather de Haes

The AMF Australia Foundation (AUS)

Patron: Ms Yvonne Kenny

Yvonne Kenny

Yvonne Kenny AM is an Australian soprano, particularly associated with Handel and Mozart roles.Born in Sydney, she first studied at the University of Sydney in science, hoping to become a biochemist, but decided to pursue a career in music instead...

 AM

Chairman (Board of Trustees): Dr Peter Tregear

Secretary: Mr Andrew Boxall

Alumni

Past awardees have become some of Australia’s leading musicians in their field; they include: Yvonne Kenny

Yvonne Kenny

Yvonne Kenny AM is an Australian soprano, particularly associated with Handel and Mozart roles.Born in Sydney, she first studied at the University of Sydney in science, hoping to become a biochemist, but decided to pursue a career in music instead...

 (soprano), Elizabeth Campbell

Elizabeth Campbell

Elizabeth Pfohl Campbell was one of the first and most prominent public television pioneers in the United States...

, (mezzo-soprano), Rosamund Illing (soprano), Ian Munro

Ian Munro (pianist)

Ian Munro is an Australian pianist, composer, writer and music educator. His career has taken him to over 30 countries in Europe, Asia, North America and Australasia.-Biography:...

 (piano), Craig Ogden (guitar), Deborah Riedel

Deborah Riedel

Deborah Riedel was an Australian operatic soprano. Hers is generally regarded as one of the greatest voices ever produced in Australia. She died of cancer at the height of her career, at the age of 50....

 (mezzo-soprano), Jeffrey Black (baritone), Mark Bonetti (cello), Peter Coleman-Wright (baritone), Andrew Wheeler

Andrew Wheeler

Andrew Wheeler is a member of the Southland Sharks basketball team in the New Zealand National Basketball League. Wheeler is a local from Invercargill and signed with the club in 2009...

 (conductor), Alexander Briger

Alexander Briger

Alexander Briger is an Australian classical conductor. He is the nephew of the conductor Sir Charles Mackerras, and both are descended from the composer Isaac Nathan.-Biography:...

 (conductor), Slava Grigoryan

Slava Grigoryan

Slava Grigoryan is an Australian classical guitarist and recording artist of Armenian heritage.He was born in Kazakhstan to Eduard and Irina Grigoryan, both professional violinists. His family emigrated to Australia in 1981 and he was raised in Melbourne. Grigoryan began to study guitar with his...

 (guitar), Clemens Leske (piano), Benjamin Bayl (organ), Duncan Gifford

Duncan Gifford

Duncan George Gifford is an Australian-born award-winning concert pianist and teacher. He has been a professor of piano at the Conservatory of Palma in Majorca since 2006. Musica Viva describes him as a "major artist of his generation"...

 (piano), David Hansen (counter-tenor), Laurence Meikle (baritone), and Amir Farid (piano).