The Accompanists’ Guild of SA Inc.

Please click here to obtain the latest version of the AGSA Register of Accompanists

Recently described as the ‘man in the shadow’ the importance of the work of the accompanist is often overlooked, misunderstood and neglected. Finally here is a competition that recognises the skills and talents of all those wonderful pianists performing as accompanists.

Are you an accompanist? Are you a singer working with an accompanist? Do you love lieder recitals? Then this is the place for you. We are pleased to announce that the first truly international competition, exclusively for piano accompanists will take place in Amsterdam from the 8th to the 13th September 2008.

There are many accompanists who are very good pianists, but there are not many pianists who are good accompanists!

The world renowned accompanist and teacher KELVIN GROUT will in 2007 celebrate fifty years of playing the piano. In addition to special concerts and master-classes throughout the seasons 2007/2008 and 2008/2009, he has given his name to this annual event intending to raise the profile of the piano accompanist and encourage young pianists to pursue this increasingly sought after and exciting specialisation. With prize money in the region of 30,000 euro, and a first prize of 10,000 euro this promises to become one of the most important competitions in the classical music world.

For more information, entry forms and regulations, please visit: http://www.kgcompetition.com/

Click on over to this page for the 2008 GPA form and brochure.

For the very special one off 25th Anniversary 2008 Festival of Accompanists, the Guild is seeking the support of many generous donors who believe in the significance of the Accompanist and in the presentation of excellence in performance and education for Accompanists, Associate Artists and the Public.

The Guild aims to do this in 2008 with the Residency of world renowned Accompanist, Malcolm Martineau, (May 22/June1), the Conference of Accompanists and Associate Artists (May 30/June 1), a significantly enhanced Geoffrey Parsons Award (May 30) worth $5000 to the winner and performances by local and international musicians. The concluding Recital (June 1) by Malcolm Martineau and bass-baritone, Jonathan Lemalu, will present two internationally acclaimed artists of the concert and opera stages in recital.

Making a donation

We invite you to come on board as a supporter of the 2008 Festival of Accompanists by making a tax deductible donation to the Australia Cultural Fund, operated by the Australia Business Arts Foundation (ABAF).

How does it work?

The Australia Cultural Fund was established to encourage people to donate to the arts to enable artists, including musicians, to benefit from this generosity. All donations are made to the Australian Business Arts Foundation which then considers donor preferences when allocating grants.  In the past three years more than $2 million has been donated to AbaF and granted to 270 artists and cultural organisations – it is a great program for projects like the 2008 Festival of Accompanists.

So, by making a donation you not only get to support the Festival of Accompanists, but you also get a tax deductible receipt for your gift.

Download Donations Form Here.
The form includes instructions for posting your donation to AbaF. You can also go to http://www.abaf.org.au/giving/acf/donors.html
for further information.

Donate now!

Help the Guild make a huge impact in 2008 and raise awareness of the significance of the Accompanist.

Donations from $2 upwards are tax deductible but only through the AbaF.

Don’t want tax deductibility?
Then donate directly to the Accompanists’ Guild of SA Inc 9 Prosser Ave, Norwood, 5067.

Donate for 2008.
Right now is the time to support the Guild. There won’t be another year like it until 2033, and that’s a long time to wait for another major celebration of the Accompanist.