The ABC Young Performers Awards have today named flautist Eliza Shephard as the Young Performer of the Year. In addition to winning $25,000, the 29-year-old Victorian will become the ABC Classic Artist in Residence, as well as receiving the $5,000 Youth Music Foundation of Australia Award, professional engagements with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Melbourne Recital Centre, and the Drago Cherina Sculpture, which has been awarded since 2018 to first prize recipients. 

Eliza Shephard performing with percussionist Alexander Meager and pianist Peter de Jager. Photo supplied.

The finals were broadcast on ABC Classic at 1pm earlier today, with Shephard selected as the winner by a panel of acclaimed Australian musicians chaired by violinist Dene Olding, and comprising cellist Susan Blake, Sydney Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Andrew Haveron, French horn player Robert Johnson, double bassist Andrew Meisel, composer Paul Stanhope, pianist Simon Tedeschi, and flautist Janet Webb.  

“Winning the ABC Young Performers Awards is truly a momentous occasion in my career so far,” said Shephard. “I’m so honoured to be joining the incredible legacy of so many great YPA-winning performers...