The Finale is finally here! Pianist Leonardo Hawco, violinist Nathan Wayne and pianist Lawrence Wang battle it out for first place, as decided by season mentor Kevin Tamanini and guest mentor Warwick Stengårds.

The three finalists, Audience Prize winner and Mentor's Commendation Award winner receive a selection of prizes from The Talent's generous sponsors Musica Viva, CutCommon Magazine, Melbourne Recital Centre, Cinema Nova, 3MBS, Forest Collective and Melbourne Chamber Orchestra!

Leonardo performs:
Colonial Song by Percy Grainger 
Gumsuckers March by Percy Grainger 

Nathan performs (with associate artist Dr. Leigh Harrold):
Abodah by Ernest Bloch
Little Chrissietina's Magic Fantasy  by Matthew Hindson

Lawrence performs:
Numa Ame by Zhao Zhang
Lantern Rite Theme from Genshin Impact by Yu-Peng Chen arr. Scott Zheng and Jasper Hu

----------------------------------------------

Host: Kyla Matsuura-Miller

Mentors: Kevin Tamanini and Julia Hastings

Producer and podcast editor: Sarah Stancombe

Sound engineers: Tom Hayman, Greg Matheson, Kieran McCoey, Mark Kerr

The Finale is finally here! Pianist Leonardo Hawco, violinist Nathan Wayne and pianist Lawrence Wang battle it out for first place, as decided by season mentor Kevin Tamanini and guest mentor Warwick Steng&aring;rds.
The three finalists, Audience Prize winner and Mentor's Commendation Award winner receive a selection of prizes from&nbsp;The Talent's generous sponsors Musica Viva, CutCommon Magazine, Melbourne Recital Centre, Cinema Nova, 3MBS, Forest Collective and Melbourne Chamber Orchestra!
Leonardo performs:
<ul>
<li>Colonial Song by Percy Grainger&nbsp;</li>
<li>Gumsuckers March by Percy Grainger&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Nathan performs (with associate artist Dr. Leigh Harrold):
<ul>
<li>Abodah by Ernest Bloch</li>
<li>Little Chrissietina's Magic Fantasy&nbsp; by Matthew Hindson</li>
</ul>
Lawrence performs:
<ul>
<li>Numa Ame by Zhao Zhang</li>
<li>Lantern Rite Theme from Genshin Impact by Yu-Peng Chen arr. Scott Zheng and Jasper Hu</li>
</ul>
----------------------------------------------
Host:&nbsp;Kyla Matsuura-Miller
Mentors:&nbsp;Kevin Tamanini and Julia Hastings
Producer and podcast editor: Sarah Stancombe
Sound engineers: Tom Hayman, Greg Matheson, Kieran McCoey, Mark Kerr

The Talent is an exciting live performance program which assists young performers at the start of their careers by broadcasting recitals by musicians who are currently studying at tertiary institutions or have recently graduated.

The Talent

Since 2013 The Talent has been assisting young and emerging artists by providing live-to-air performance experience coupled with feedback from respected industry mentors.

Since 2013 The Talent has been assisting young and emerging artists by providing live-to-air performance experience coupled with feedback from respected industry mentors.

The Talent Season 2 2026 Finale

The Talent has come to its penultimate episode for Season 2 2026! Let's listen back to some highlight performances for this season. Listen until the end to hear Kyla and Kevin reflect on the season and announce the three finalists!

Highlight performances featured in this episode:


Kate Yin (piano)—Toccatissimo by Carl Vine


Oscar Xu (horn)—First movement of Reinhold Glière’s Horn Concerto in B-flat Major, Op. 91


Archer Bryett (trombone)—First movement of Launy Grøndahl’s Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra


Lucas Cai (piano)—First movement of Carl Vine’s Piano Sonata No.1


Weiwei Bao (violin)—Second movement of Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, Op.64


Stephy Cai (piano)—Valley of Rocks by Miriam Hyde


Symphony Shi (piano)—Ondine, from Maurice Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit, M.55

We've been lucky to have a whole host of different instruments in this season, and performers spanning across the entire age range that The Talent caters for. We hope you've enjoyed this season as much as The Talent team as enjoyed putting it together, and will tune in for The Talent Finale airing live on 3MBS on the 27th of October 2026!

The Talent has come to its penultimate episode for Season 2 2026! Let's listen back to some highlight performances for this season. Listen until the end to hear Kyla and Kevin reflect on the season and announce the three finalists!
Highlight performances featured in this episode:
<ul>
<li>
Kate Yin (piano)&mdash;Toccatissimo by Carl Vine
</li>
<li>
Oscar Xu (horn)&mdash;First movement of Reinhold Gli&egrave;re&rsquo;s Horn Concerto in B-flat Major, Op. 91
</li>
<li>
Archer Bryett (trombone)&mdash;First movement of Launy Gr&oslash;ndahl&rsquo;s Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra
</li>
<li>
Lucas Cai (piano)&mdash;First movement of Carl Vine&rsquo;s Piano Sonata No.1
</li>
<li>
Weiwei Bao (violin)&mdash;Second movement of Felix Mendelssohn&rsquo;s Violin Concerto in E minor, Op.64
</li>
<li>
Stephy Cai (piano)&mdash;Valley of Rocks by Miriam Hyde
</li>
<li>
Symphony Shi (piano)&mdash;Ondine, from Maurice Ravel&rsquo;s Gaspard de la nuit, M.55
</li>
</ul>
We've been lucky to have a whole host of different instruments in this season, and performers spanning across the entire age range that The Talent&nbsp;caters for. We hope you've enjoyed this season as much as&nbsp;The Talent&nbsp;team as enjoyed putting it together, and will tune in for The Talent&nbsp;Finale airing live on 3MBS on the 27th of October 2026!

The Talent Season 2 2026 Highlights

We have come to the final 'heats' episode of The Talent, featuring Violinist Anya Van Wyk & Pianist Julia Rozenkova. The pair receive feedback from season mentor Kevin Tamanini as well as guest mentor Lisa Grosman. 

 

Anya performs:

1) Bach: Violin Sonata No. 1 G Minor, BWV 1001: I. Adagio 

2) Sarasate: Zigeunerweisen 

 

Julia performs:

1) English Suite No 2 – Allemande and Gigue by Johann Sebastian Bach

2) Anywhere by Jane Hammond 

3) Toccata Op 15 by Robert Muczynski 

 

Host: Kyla Matsuura-Miller

Mentors: Kevin Tamanini and Julia Hastings

Producer and podcast editor: Sarah Stancombe

Sound engineers: Tom Hayman, Greg Matheson, Kieran McCoey, Mark Kerr

We have come to the final 'heats' episode of The Talent, featuring Violinist Anya Van Wyk &amp; Pianist Julia Rozenkova. The pair receive feedback from season mentor Kevin Tamanini as well as guest mentor Lisa Grosman.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Anya performs:
1) Bach: Violin Sonata No. 1 G Minor, BWV 1001: I. Adagio&nbsp;
2) Sarasate: Zigeunerweisen&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Julia performs:
1) English Suite No 2 &ndash; Allemande and Gigue by Johann Sebastian Bach
2) Anywhere by Jane Hammond&nbsp;
3) Toccata Op 15 by Robert Muczynski&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Host:&nbsp;Kyla Matsuura-Miller
Mentors:&nbsp;Kevin Tamanini and Julia Hastings
Producer and podcast editor: Sarah Stancombe
Sound engineers: Tom Hayman, Greg Matheson, Kieran McCoey, Mark Kerr

The Talent Season 2 Ep. 10 - Violinist Anya Van Wyk & Pianist Julia Rozenkova

In this penultimate 'heats' episode of The Talent, Violinist Elizabeth Luiskandl & Pianist Lawrence Wang perform for guest mentor Tiffany Cheng and season mentor Kevin Tamanini - and of course all our lovely listeners! 

 

Elizabeth performs:

1. Wieniawski Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor Op. 22 I. Allegro moderato 

2. Mozart Concerto No.4 in D major KV218 II. Andante cantabile 

 

Lawrence performs:
Numa Ame by Zhao Zhang 
Liebesleid by Fritz Kreisler (arr. Sergei Rachmaninoff) 
Lantern Rite Theme from Genshin Impact Composed by Yu-Peng Chen Arranged by Scott Zheng and Jasper Hu

 

Host: Kyla Matsuura-Miller

Mentors: Kevin Tamanini and Julia Hastings

Producer and podcast editor: Sarah Stancombe

Sound engineers: Tom Hayman, Greg Matheson, Kieran McCoey, Mark Kerr

In this penultimate 'heats' episode of&nbsp;The Talent, Violinist Elizabeth Luiskandl &amp; Pianist Lawrence Wang perform for guest mentor Tiffany Cheng and season mentor Kevin Tamanini - and of course all our lovely listeners!&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Elizabeth performs:
1. Wieniawski Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor Op. 22 I. Allegro moderato&nbsp;
2. Mozart Concerto No.4 in D major KV218 II. Andante cantabile&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Lawrence performs:
<ol>
<li>Numa Ame by Zhao Zhang&nbsp;</li>
<li>Liebesleid by Fritz Kreisler (arr. Sergei Rachmaninoff)&nbsp;</li>
<li>Lantern Rite Theme from Genshin Impact Composed by Yu-Peng Chen Arranged by Scott Zheng and Jasper Hu</li>
</ol>
&nbsp;
Host:&nbsp;Kyla Matsuura-Miller
Mentors:&nbsp;Kevin Tamanini and Julia Hastings
Producer and podcast editor: Sarah Stancombe
Sound engineers: Tom Hayman, Greg Matheson, Kieran McCoey, Mark Kerr

The Talent Season 2 2026 Finale

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