Finalists announced for 2015 Billy Thorpe Scholarship

PRESS RELEASE:

QMusic and Arts Queensland are thrilled to announce the four finalists of the Billy Thorpe Scholarship 2015 which are Babaganouj, Ayla Scanlan, Moses Gunn Collective, and Sahara Beck.

Arts Queensland's annual Billy Thorpe Scholarship provides a structured range of support to establish a professional career through career planning and advice and the opportunity to record with an established producer.

The scholarship, named in honour of the late Billy Thorpe, a great Australian rock musician who passed away in February 2007, was designed to help develop the future of rock and roll. Billy Thorpe spent his formative years in Brisbane and made an enormous contribution to the Australian and global music industry over five decades of performing, writing and producing.

QMusic Executive Officer Joel Edmondson said of the applications this year, “the scholarship has received a record number of applications this year and the calibre of the artists was extremely high. It was a big challenge for the panel of assessors to pick the finalists out of such a large pool of great talent”.

2013 recipient Jeremy Neale said: “The Billy Thorpe Scholarship has helped me push forward in my music career. The funding has allowed me to record songs to a standard competitive in both domestic and international markets and to upgrade the equipment I use for my live show. This combination has ensured that the music I am creating and the quality of its delivery is at an all-time high.”

QMusic extends a huge congratulations to the four finalists for their outstanding achievement.

The winner of the 10K prize will be announced on 30 March 2015 at The Queensland Music Awards.