AGQ Newsletter February 2025
Dear guild members,
Happy new year!
30th anniversary dinner:
We are happy to announce that we will be having a belated 30th anniversary dinner, at which our patron Piers Lane will also be in attendance. Please save the date Tuesday 15th April 2025 for this important event. The date is a little soon and in the school holidays but we are working to Piers’ busy schedule. We would love to see as many guild members as possible and will release more information once a venue is booked. In order to gauge preliminary numbers, could you please fill out the very quick survey attached here: https://form.jotform.com/250478402002041
Change of treasurer:
Our esteemed treasurer Sarah Strange has stepped down from her role because of the upcoming birth of her first child. On behalf of the AGQ and the AGQ committee, I wish to say a huge thank you to Sarah for all her help with the AGQ finances as well as with the AGQ website. Sarah has been a valued member of the AGQ committee and her work has always reflected her professionalism. Fellow committee member Crystal Smith has taken on the treasurer role, for which we are also very thankful.
Addition of student committee member:
The AGQ committee has established a ‘student committee member’ role so that we can gain insight into the needs of emerging collaborative pianists and further promote the guild to university students. I am glad to announce that Artemii Safonov will be filling this role. About Artemii:
”Artemii Safonov is a talented and accomplished 18-year-old pianist, multi-instrumentalist and composer. Beginning his musical journey at a young age, Artemii has honed his skills through years of education, becoming a highly proficient pianist.
Artemii’s passion and talent for music led him to apply to the Queensland Conservatorium, where he was accepted and is currently studying. Despite being underage for the program during his application, Artemii’s exceptional musical abilities were recognised, and the institution offered him a place along with an accompanying scholarship.
Recently, Artemii gave a one-hour solo piano recital at the Brisbane City Hall as a part of their regular concert series, performing to a full audience.
In addition to skills as a performer, Artemii is a talented composer, creating music for various ensembles, including solo piano works, art songs, string quartets, woodwind quintets and even orchestral compositions. His compositions frequently claim awards in national and international competitions, such as the QMTA Composers’ competition and the international Choral Laboratory competition, further demonstrating his versatility and musical abilities.
Artemii has wide experience working as a versatile accompanist. Beginning with his first collaborations with singer Amalia Safonova at the age of twelve, Artemii has quickly gone on to develop his skills significantly, accompanying in many different contexts over the years such as concerts, competitions, AMEB examinations and auditions. Artemii has worked with several notable musical organisations, providing his services for rehearsals and concerts with both Opera Australia and Opera Queensland. Artemii is currently the official accompanist for the Redland City Choir.”
2025 planned activities:
We have a number of AGQ activities planned for 2025 including:
- social dinners, to be held towards the end of each school term;
- two masterclasses for student collaborative pianists and guild members;
- two playing days for guild members and any potential guild members.
We are currently organising these activities as well as continuing the AGQ’s regular sponsorship of collaborative pianist prizes. When we have arranged dates, we will notify members as well as advertise via socials.
Australian Guild of Collaborative Pianists
All guild members are welcome to attend the AGCP meetings. The next meeting is Thursday 27th February 5pm AEDT via Zoom – if you would like the link, please contact David Miller at info@agcp.au. It’s worth having a look at the AGCP website as well at www.agcp.au
I hope this term is a rewarding one for our guild members!
All the best
Dr Rachel Hocking
President AGQ
