The Australian Friends of Keshet Eilon has been active for over a year, with the purpose of promoting Australian string musicians. One of their projects is the granting of scholarships to outstanding young Australian musicians that make possible their participation in the International Summer Course at Keshet Eilon. Young Australian string players who have been prizewinners in the Young Performers Award (YPA) competition are eligible to submit applications for this scholarship.
The Young Performers Award (YPA) has supported Keshet Eilon since 1998.
On the initiative of the Sydney Friends of Keshet Eilon, a recital was held on 24th September 2018 at the Sydney Music Conservatory, at which violinist Emily Sun, a graduate of Keshet Eilon, performed accompanied by the pianist Philip Shvok.
Sun, who was awarded the title Performer of the Year, played several works by Faure, Poulenc and Gershwin, and as a finale, performed a Shostakovich duet with Robin Wilson, who was her teacher during her youth. A few months later in July 2019, Wilson himself participated in the Keshet Eilon summer course as a member of the faculty.
In an interview with Michael Gonsky after the recital, Sun related her experiences as a student at the renowned Keshet Eilon International Summer Mastercourse, which takes place at Kibbutz Eilon in the Western Galilee, Israel.
It is evident that the organization does not suffice with past successes, and on 7th July 2018 another fundraising event was held at the Sydney Conservatory for the benefit of Keshet Eilon. Faculty member and violinist Vadim Gluzman performed at the concert voluntarily. Our warm thanks go to Vadim for his contribution to the event, and to Ronald Gridiger and the Friends of Keshet Eilon, Jack Ritch, Dr. Ian Kerr, Ilana Gridiger, Gregory Zeltzer, Vivian Zeltzer and Ruth Nathanson for sponsoring the first Keshet Eilon fundraising concert in Sydney. We at Keshet Eilon wish them every success in their future activities.