Applications open for Brian Boak Bursary

Time is running out for exceptional young artists to put their names forward for the highly prestigious 2024 Brian Boak Outstanding Performer Bursary, with applications to close on February 26.

The bursary, which is awarded biennially, will see the successful applicant receive up to $20,000 to put towards further study and career development.

The Empire Foundation Chair, Janelle Fletcher said the life changing Brian Boak Outstanding Performer
Bursary offered support to the next generation of artists who have already shown exemplary skills and
international potential in their chosen fields.

Ms Fletcher:

This bursary is offered by The Empire’s Foundation to provide support to someone wishing to pursue studies or professional development in the areas of acting, dance, singing or instrumental performance.

Our past recipients have all gone on to undertake some incredible development projects including our most recent recipient Morgan Carter who is currently studying Opera in Manchester, England at The Royal Northern College of Music.

Theatre creator and actor, Emily Goddard’s bursary allowed her to study at Ecole Phillip Gaulier in a style that informed her creation of her sensational one woman show, the acclaimed This is Eden, which she is now working towards adapting for television.

Australian tenor and 2013 recipient Paul Tabone, worked continuously in Europe, in the role of Piangi (The Phantom of the Opera) on West End, returning to The Empire in 2021 for a performance with local choral singers, Love and Other Lessons and 2022 with Golden Days.

Other successes we have seen from this bursary include trumpet player and conductor Sam Nester, who completed a composition and performance project and saxophonist Angela Davis, who was able to record an album thanks to the funding.

The Brian Boak Outstanding Performer Bursary was made possible through the generosity of the late Brian Boak, a theatre enthusiast and strong supporter of both the arts and The Empire in Toowoomba.

Applications for the $20,000 Outstanding Performer Bursary close Monday 26 February.

The Empire’s Foundation is proudly supported by Bernoth Properties, DP Wealth Advisory, Downlands College, Greenridge Group, Horizon Accounting, Clifford Gouldson Lawyers, The Arbour Boutique Apartments and Wearing Memories.

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