What the Fellowship offers:

Fellows work directly alongside Flinders Quartet members through rehearsal intensives, mentoring and repertoire development. Over three years, Fellows will:

• perform at least one new Australian work from FQ's Ascend and Emerge composer programs each year

• give public performances each year, including at FQ Sessions

• take part in artistic planning with FQ, building skills in programming and creative leadership

• mentor FQ's pre-professional and secondary school string quartets, guided by FQ musicians

• mentor regional string players through FQ's partnerships with Resonance String Orchestra and John Noble's Itet program

• develop skills in touring, marketing, financial management and running a string quartet as a business

• from 2028, perform in regional settings outside metropolitan Melbourne

A program that grows with the quartet:

Who can apply

The Fellowship is for early-career professional violinists, violists and cellists who have finished (or who have almost finished) their training and are now working as musicians, for example on casual orchestral lists, in chamber music, freelancing or teaching. There is no age limit.

Applications are welcome from existing string quartets and from individual musicians seeking to form a new quartet. Existing quartets apply together in one application and are assessed as a quartet. If a member of an applying quartet also wishes to be considered as an individual, they need to submit a separate application.

To be eligible you must:

• have completed or be close to completing tertiary study

• have the right to work in Australia for the duration of the Fellowship (Flinders Quartet is unable to sponsor or assist with visas)

• be living in Melbourne for the 2027 program

FQ does not cover relocation, travel or accommodation costs for Melbourne-based activity; travel for touring and regional work is covered by FQ. Australian musicians currently studying or working overseas are warmly encouraged to apply, provided they can be based in Melbourne from February 2027.

Remuneration and contracts

Fellows are engaged on individual per-call contracts at $250 per three-hour call plus superannuation. In 2027 this is expected to total approximately $18,000 plus superannuation per musician, with fees increasing in 2028 and 2029 as activity grows.

Contracts are offered one calendar year at a time. FQ's intention is to work with the same four musicians across 2027, 2028 and 2029, with renewal each year subject to mutual agreement and an annual review. Individual contracts mean the Fellowship can continue if a member moves on, and each Fellow keeps the freedom to build an independent career alongside the program.

Selection criteria

Please address each criterion directly in your application letter. Existing quartets should respond as a quartet.

1. Artistic excellence. The standard of your playing, and your standing as an emerging professional musician through performance history, ensemble work or awards.

2. Commitment to the string quartet. Your chamber music experience and your ambition to make the string quartet a central part of your career.

3. Curiosity about new music. Your interest in working with composers and performing new Australian works.

4. Mentoring and teaching. Teaching or coaching experience, or a developing interest in mentoring younger musicians.

5. Professional readiness and alignment. Your readiness to take responsibility for a string quartet's artistic and working life, your openness to being mentored, and your alignment with FQ's values of collaboration, generosity, wellbeing and respect.

How to apply

Apply through our online form. You'll upload your documents as PDFs and add links to your recordings, so have everything ready before you start.

You will need:

1. An application letter of no more than two pages addressing the selection criteria. Existing quartets submit one letter signed by all four members.

2. A short biography (up to 150 words) for each applicant or quartet member.

3. Links to two or three video recordings, totalling no more than 30 minutes.

4. Two letters of support outlining your suitability for the Fellowship.

5. Contact details for two referees, who may be the same as or different to the authors of your letters of support.

About your recordings. Individual applicants must include at least one recording in a chamber music context. Existing quartets should submit recordings of the quartet with its current membership. Recordings should be from the last 12 months and unedited within each work. A range of styles is encouraged. We are listening for musicianship, not production values: clear sound and a clear view of you playing matter more than a professional recording. YouTube (unlisted is fine), Vimeo, Google Drive or Dropbox links are all welcome, as long as they open without a password or access request.

Selection process

There is no live audition. Your recordings and written application are your audition, so choose the material that best represents you. Applications are assessed by a panel led by Artistic Director Zoe Knighton with members of Flinders Quartet. Shortlisted applicants are invited to an online interview of around 45 minutes: a conversation about your playing, your musical values and your ambitions for a string quartet career. Referees are contacted for shortlisted applicants.

Key dates

Monday 5 October 2026 - Applications open
Friday 6 November 2026, 5pm AEDT - Applications close
Wednesday 11 November 2026 - Shortlisted applicants notified
Tuesday 17 to Friday 20 November 2026 - Online interviews
By Tuesday 15 December 2026 - All applicants notified
January 2027 - Contracts and induction
From Monday 1 February 2027 - Fellowship activity begins

Frequently asked questions

Inclusion and access

Flinders Quartet is committed to a chamber music sector that reflects contemporary Australia. We warmly encourage applications from First Peoples musicians, musicians from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, musicians with disability and musicians from regional areas. If you need information in another format, or support or adjustments to apply or interview, please get in touch and we'll work with you.

About Flinders Quartet

Founded in 2000, Flinders Quartet is one of Australia's leading string quartets, based in Naarm (Melbourne) on Wurundjeri Country. Known for artistic excellence, bold programming and deep investment in the future of chamber music, FQ has commissioned and premiered more than 100 new Australian works. The Flinders Fellowship Quartet sits within FQ Pathways, alongside our pre-professional quartet program, the Ascend and Emerge composer programs and regional partnerships with Resonance and John Noble's Itet program.

Also recruiting: we're looking for a Pathways Producer to help deliver the Fellowship and FQ Pathways. [Link: Find out more]

The Flinders Fellowship Quartet is supported by The Ian Potter Foundation.