Rob Guest Endowment Gala Concert for Sydney in 2013
Now in its’ fifth year, the Rob Guest Endowment is an established and highly anticipated annual opportunity to showcase some of Australia’s finest upcoming young talent which culminates in a night of stellar performances at the Rob Guest Endowment Gala Concert.
The Gala Concert will be held in Sydney for the first time in 2013.
The late Rob Guest, over a 40+ year career, became a much loved Musical Theatre star, a household name to audiences throughout Australia, New Zealand and overseas. Perhaps best known for his role as the “Phantom of the Opera”, he appeared and starred in over 40 productions including “Les Miserables” , “Jesus Christ Superstar”, “Grease”, “Jolson”, “Sound of Music” and “Wicked”. Less well known to audiences was his role as mentor and adviser to many young performers he worked with over the years, helping them through rough spots and guiding them in their career development. Following his sudden and unexpected death in 2008 while performing the role of the Wizard of Oz in “Wicked”, the Rob Guest Endowment fund was set up as a tribute to this outstanding performer to continue his work in nurturing and progressing young developing talent in the Musical Theatre industry.
In 2012, judges auditioned over 300 applicants in Sydney and Melbourne drawn from 6 states to finally select the top 6 performers to compete at the Gala Concert. For the past 4 years the Gala Concert has been held at Melbourne’s historic Her Majesty’s Theatre but this year the organisers have decided to move the Gala Concert to Sydney to better reflect the national nature of this scholarship.
The NSW government, through its tourism major events agency, Destination NSW, is supporting the Rob Guest Endowment for 2013-2015 to assist in growing the profile of the competition and to continue building a strong reputation around the scholarship where the finalists will be recognised within the industry as being rising stars with bright futures.
All applicants must be between 18 – 30 years of age and have well developed Vocal, dance and acting abilities to front the panel of judges who are confronted with the daunting task of selecting the top 6 young performers.
The panel of judges, all top industry experts, on the night of the Gala Concert will Award the prize to one of the final 6 contestants with exceptional talent who will receive a prize package to provide not only financial assistance for their future, but access to tuition and industry specialists both in Australia and overseas to allow them to develop their skills and knowledge of the industry and subsequently flourish within it.
Tickets for the Rob Guest Endowment Gala Concert at the Sydney Lyric Theatre on November 25 are available for waitlist on Tuesday, 18 June by visiting
http://www.ticketmaster.com.au/
Images: (top)) 2012 Rob Guest Endowment finalists and (lower) Glenn Hill, 2012 winner.
Subscribe to our E-Newsletter, buy our latest print edition or find a Performing Arts book at Book Nook.