Emerging jazz guitarist Quentin Angus has been presented with the 2009 Keith Michell Performing Arts Award.
First awarded in 2003, the Keith Michell Award is a joint initiative of the Helpmann Academy and the Southern Theatre and Arts Supporters (STARS). Valued at $2,000, the award is presented to encourage emerging performing arts talent and celebrates the distinguished career of Adelaide-born stage and screen legend Keith Michell. The award is open to dance, music and drama graduates from Helpmann Academy partner institutions.
Quentin Angus is an Honours graduate of the University of Adelaide’s Elder Conservatorium of Music, and was chosen as the winner of the 2009 award for his dedicated efforts to establish a career as a professional jazz guitarist.
“This is the very first time a musician has been presented with the Keith Michell Award. Quentin has an impressive track record as a jazz guitarist, having regularly performed both in Australia and overseas,” says Meredith Bowman from the STARS selection panel. “We are very pleased the Keith Michell Award will help contribute towards Quentin’s postgraduate music studies in the US.”
Quentin is currently completing a Masters of Music in Jazz Performance at the Purchase College Conservatory of Music in New York. With a heavy focus on practical skills development, the two-year program includes tuition with some of the world’s leading jazz guitarists, contemporary jazz composition, rhythmic analysis and jazz improvisation techniques.
“It is a tremendous honour to be the winner of the Keith Michell Award, it is wonderful that such an award exists to assist emerging artists embarking upon their career,” Quentin says. “Receiving this award has been yet another source of motivation for me, as Keith Michell’s career is certainly an impressive one to say the least. It has once again reminded me of some of the supremely talented performers who have come out of South Australia.”
The Helpmann Academy for the Visual & Performing Arts assists emerging artists to make the leap into professional practice, by providing a range of programs and opportunities including exhibitions, awards, grants, mentorships and international exchanges.
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