About
Selby & Friends presents “chamber music at its best” (SMH) with seven subscription seasons around Australia in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide, Turramurra and the NSW Southern Highlands - each presented five times per year. Australian pianist Kathryn Selby, AM created the concert series in 2007 and her guest artists include many of the finest solo and ensemble performers from Australia and around the world. The series is widely considered “world class” and of “the highest possible level of performance” with many hailing Ms Selby as not only an “entrepreneurial force” but amongst the finest of Australian artists. She was awarded the ‘AM’ as part of the Australia Day Honours, 2013. Our 2024 Season celebrates over 30 years since pianist Kathryn Selby returned home from the US and began creating concerts around Australia.
Our 2024 Season showcases guest artists who have made significant and long-standing contributions to the Australian musical landscape, in some cases over many decades. These brilliant artists are incredibly special, not only because we are good friends and colleagues, but also because they have made the art of making music such a truly wonderful adventure.
Selby & Friends originally began as a series of concerts introducing music to children presented by Kathryn Selby at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney with a second series for general audiences in the evening, supported by IBM Australia from 1988-1993. Re-established in 2007 as a new, nationally touring series with Selby and invited guest artists, Selby & Friends has continued to present concerts of the highest quality with stunning reviews and a large and loyal audience. ABC Classic FM and the MBS network record for broadcast our tour programs.
Selby & Friends is unique in that it was amongst the first in Australia to feature the artists speaking directly from the stage about their personal experiences and historical and amusing anecdotes, creating an intimate and long-lasting connection with audience members that is reflected in the consistent loyalty of returning patrons. Selby & Friends is also unique in that it is the only Australian series to mentor brilliant young Australians in a touring capacity to learn while working from within an ensemble with artists older and more experienced. Selby & Friends is also unique in that it was the first Australian series to encourage children to learn about chamber music by inviting children 12 and under to attend the concerts for free.
Our goals are to present memorable experiences with world-class events, to support young people in a learning capacity and to help them reach their professional potential, and to support Australia’s cultural life as a vital balancing element within strong communities. To that end we have been extremely successful as our strong subscriber base, mentoring programs and consistently stunning reviews from audience and critics alike (and our popularity with national radio broadcasters) will attest.
We look forward to another stunning season of great music performed by brilliant artists and we hope you will join us.