Margaret Nickson Prize for Voice and Piano

The Margaret Nickson Prize for Voice and Piano is awarded to two students who deliver the most outstanding performance in partnership as singer and pianist. The prize recognizes creative excellence in music performance, specifically for repertoire performed by a voice and piano duo. Eligible applicants must be singers or pianists performing repertoire in partnership, enrolled in a course offered by the School of Music at the University of Queensland. The repertoire must be presented by the same two performers throughout, and students may perform in any year both as a singer and as a pianist in separate partnerships, but may not participate in the same capacity in more than one partnership. Established in 1977 and originally maintained by an annual gift from Margaret G. Nickson, ARCM, lecturer in Singing at The University of Queensland from 1975-1978 and part-time teacher at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. The prize was maintained from 2003 to 2017 by a biennial gift from international soprano diva Lisa Gasteen and is currently maintained by an annual gift from the School of Music staff.