Last month, WAAPA launched its inaugural Premier Visiting Artist Program, in which Perth’s brand new Minderoo Centre for Performance Excellence hosts some of the world’s most respected creative practitioners as they work closely with students and the community.
The initiative, supported by Principal Partner Minderoo Foundation, allows students to receive world-class training directly from globally recognised artists.
WAAPA Executive Dean Professor David Shirley said of the program, “the Premier Visiting Artist initiative means we can bring the world’s most gifted artists with decades of international experience into the classroom, the rehearsal studio, and the performance space.” Shirley went on to say that “the program also benefits the broader community by opening up performances, masterclasses, and conversations that connect Western Australian audiences and practitioners with leading international voices.”
Internationally acclaimed Ukrainian-Australian pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk kicked off the program on Tuesday, March 17, the first of four Premier Visiting Artists to visit WAAPA in 2026.
During his week-long residency at ECU City, Gavrylyuk worked with WAAPA Classical Music students through intensive masterclasses and workshops and also provided a public masterclass for WA’s piano teaching community. The highlight was a showcase solo recital, followed by a student recital co-directed by Gavrylyuk and Dr Tonya Lemoh, WAAPA’s Head of Classical Piano.
Upcoming Premier Visiting Artists include Jon Driscoll, an award-winning video, lighting and projection designer visiting from July to September to work with Production and Design students. His residency will include workshops, masterclasses, specialist training in the new ECU City Campus production technologies, and industry outreach sessions for WA’s theatre and production community.
Patsy Rodenburg will work across the Acting and Screen Performance, Performing Arts and Aboriginal Performance students in August. Rodenburg is an internationally renowned voice teacher, known for training generations of actors (Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen and Daniel Day-Lewis); working with leading theatre companies (Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre); and some of the great playwrights (Arthur Miller, Harold Pinter, Samuel Beckett).
Her residency will see Rodenburg mentor students in voice, text and performance techniques, focusing on classical texts like Shakespeare and Greek drama. WA performers will be invited to engage with her teaching through public talks and masterclasses.
October will see seven-time Grammy Award-winning composer and bandleader Maria Schneider visit Perth as a Premier Visiting Artist, working with WAAPA’s Jazz and Contemporary Music students. On top of leading composition workshops, rehearsals and industry discussions, Schneider will direct the WAAPA Big Band in two major public performances at the McCusker Recital Hall.
Explore the WAAPA performance program below.