ABC Classic has announced the 12 semifinalists selected to compete in  for the 2026 ABC Young Performers Awards.

The 2026 ABC Young Performer Awards semifinalists.

This year’s musicians are Alice Morgan (saxophone), Beatrice Colombis (violin), Buddy Lovett (percussion), Charlotte Miles (cello), Connor Whyte (classical guitar), Dillon Chan (piano), Dindin Jingyu Wang (violin), Joshua Han (piano), Lily Bryant (flute), Maggie Wang (cello), Sheng-Yuan Lynch (piano) and Tom Lowe (saxophone).

This year’s finalists include emerging performers who are making waves both internationally and domestically. Twenty-three-year-old Charlotte Miles, featured in Limelight‘s July 2026 issue, was announced as a finalist for the Queen Elisabeth International Cello Competition this year, and earlier this month, Sydney-based Beatrice Colombis won the New Zealand-based Michael Hill International Violin Competition.

Pianist Joshua Han also took home the 2024 National Piano Award. Previously an ABC Classic Performer of the Week, guest Sydney Symphony Orchestra saxophonist Alice Morgan was selected as Ensemble Offspring’s 2024 Hatched Associate Artist.

Open to musicians under the age of 31, the ABC Young Performers Awards grants its winner a $40,000 cash prize and the opportunity to record a solo album with ABC Classic. The runner-up earns $15,000 and third place, $5,000.

This year’s adjudicators include harpist and panel chair Marshall McGuire, pianist Aura Go, violinist Sophie Rowell and flautist Eliza Shephard, who won the Young Performers Award in 2022.

“We were impressed with the overall level of skill, talent, musicality and commitment from all applicants and the energy they brought to this important competition,” said McGuire.

“Competitors who stood out to the panel were bold and imaginative and had a range of repertoire which allowed them to present a full palette of [musical] styles.”

The first round of auditions required competitors to submit a video performance which included an Australian composition. The Awards’ Grand Final will take place on 3 November at the Sydney Opera House. The three finalists will perform a concerto with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra which will also be broadcast via ABC TV, ABC iView and ABC Classic.

More about the ABC Young Performers Awards can be found here.