The Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation has awarded $400,000 in grants supporting 19 performing arts projects to be developed or presented in 2027, as the organisation marks its 40th anniversary.

The grants were announced at a celebration at the UUSC Club, chosen in recognition of the Foundation’s late founder, Dr Rodney Seaborn, who was a member of the club.

Dr Rodney Seaborn. Portrait supplied

The Foundation received more than 100 applications for the 2026 grants, a 40 percent increase on the previous year. The successful recipients comprise 10 individuals, seven organisations and two Foundation Directed Grants, which are awarded at the Foundation’s discretion in recognition of organisations whose work reflects Seaborn’s philanthropic vision.

Individual grants will support projects and professional development across theatre, opera, music, puppetry and multidisciplinary performance. Recipients include opera singer Jack Bolton, who will undertake a Master of Opera Singing in Leipzig; conductor Melinda Hole, for international professional development and artistic exchange; and director Eugene Lynch, for his Melbourne residency while directing Victorian Opera’s 2027 production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro.

Melinda Hole. Portrait supplied

Other individual projects include...