Australian pianist and scholar Danaë Killian has been named the 2026 recipient of the Michael Kieran Harvey Scholarship, receiving $60,000 to support her ongoing artistic development.

Administered by Perpetual Limited, the scholarship was established in 2006 through a bequest by Susan Mary Remington to honour the achievements of Australian pianist and composer Michael Kieran Harvey. It is awarded to outstanding Australian postgraduate musicians who demonstrate technical mastery, originality and a commitment to advancing piano practice in the 21st century.

Announcing the award, Harvey praised Killian’s “sincere and wide-ranging” commitment to 20th- and 21st-century repertoire, highlighting her deep engagement with the piano works of Schoenberg and her innovative performance projects.

Danaë Killian. Portrait supplied

Based in Melbourne, Killian is a leading contemporary pianist, educator and core artist with the Forest Collective, known for her environmentally themed collaborations and recent recording projects. Killian said she was “honoured” to join the scholarship’s distinguished alumni, describing the award as “life- and career-changing”.

Killian plans to use the funds to...