Fifteen-year-old Townsville-Gurambilbarra flautist Annabelle Brown has been named as the 2025 recipient of the Australian Festival of Chamber Music‘s Theodore Kuchar Scholarship for Excellence in Music.

Initiated in 1990 in honour of Theodore Kuchar, the founding Artistic Director of the Australian Festival of Chamber Music (AFCM), the scholarship is funded in partnership with the Townsville City Council and aims to support young North Queensland musicians by increasing their opportunities for creative growth and skill development.

Annabelle Brown and AFCM Exective Director Ricardo Peach. Photo © Vicki Katthagen

Brown said that she will use the scholarship – worth $4,000 over two years (Years 11 and 12) – to further her flute studies at Glasgow Conservatorium in Scotland.

“I absolutely know that music is in my future. It’s been part of my life since I was six years old and I’m so excited to win this scholarship. It means I can study overseas and then return to university here in Australia,” she said.

Brown began playing the flute at age six. She is currently a student at Townsville Grammar School, where she is involved with the school’s orchestras, choirs, dance...