2026 Dates
Contemporary Voice, Jazz Voice and Music Theatre will be held at The Warehouse Theatre: Friday 26 June to Sunday 28 June
Classical Voice will be held at the Hartley Concert Room: Wednesday 1 July to Saturday 4 July
2026 Syllabus
Competitors are also encouraged to read our Tips for Vocal Division Competitors and our most recent Stardom Music Upload Instructions.
2026 Adjudicators
Contemporary and Jazz Voice: Kim Spargo
Kim has extensive experience as a vocal coach and an educator to professionals and has worked with a vast range of voices at all ages and in all styles of music. Kim travels frequently both nationally & internationally to present at conferences on topics including voice production, stagecraft, cabaret, and music theatre to name a few.
As an artist, Kim has worked with a huge array of artists, composers, directors, and companies, including Adelaide Chamber Singers, Barry Humphries, Natalie Weiss, Shoshana Bean, Kristen Chenoweth, Jason Robert Brown, William Barton, ENZO Tour, and Ennio Morricone.
Kim has been teaching vocally for a number of years and is proud to see a number of her students performing professionally in Australia and abroad. She has even spotted the familiar faces of students in shows like The Voice, X-Factor, Australia’s Got Talent and Australian Idol.
Music Theatre: Mark Oates
A long-standing State Opera South Australia artist, Mark has too many highlights to list in 120 words! A regular at the Adelaide Festival, in 2022 Mark premiered the dual roles of Ian Duncan/Don Dunstan in the Ruby Award winning Watershed: The Death Of Dr Duncan, roles with which he made his Opera Australia debut in the 2024 Sydney season, reprising in the 2026 Melbourne season.
2026 is a year of reprisals, with Mark making his international debut in a yet-to-be-announced project and returning for his 10th year touring with Aerial Artists Australia, singing while aerialists perform death-defying feats!
An in-demand concert artist, Mark also mentors for Class of Cabaret (Adelaide Cabaret Festival) and the SA Primary Schools Music Festival.
Classical and Opera: Nicholas Lester
Adelaide born, Balaklava raised, Nicholas Lester studied at Elder Conservatorium of Music and was Young Artist – State Opera South Australia (SOSA). In London, he trained privately and studied at the National Opera Studio. He made his debut with Opera Holland Park.
He’s established an international singing career with repeat appearances with most of the UK companies, and performances in China, Portugal, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia.
Nicholas worked for a charity in London delivering music programs in-school and externally, alongside his singing teaching. Now based in Adelaide, he looks forward to continuing his singing teaching and his relationship with SOSA. Later this year he will appear in La Cenerentola, Carmen and Into The Woods.
2026 Rules
In addition to the rules specified in the Vocal Division Syllabus, competitors, teachers and parents are advised to read the Rules of the Competition 2026 carefully.
2026 Arnold Matters Vocal Scholarship
In 2026 the Vocal Division’s major prize is the Arnold Matters Vocal Scholarship. This year’s Arnold Matters Vocal Scholarship Final will be held at 5:00pm on Saturday 4 July in the Hartley Concert Room at the Elder Conservatorium.
Open to singers aged 23–35 years, the Arnold Matters Vocal Scholarship is valued at $6,000 and is the Adelaide Eisteddfod Society’s most prestigious award. Established in 1992 in honour of renowned Australian baritone and teacher Arnold Matters OAM, the scholarship supports outstanding vocalists pursuing advanced study, professional development, and performance opportunities.
Past recipients have gone on to successful international careers, including Grant Doyle, Karina Bailey, and James Emerson — cementing the scholarship’s reputation as a significant career-launching opportunity for emerging classical singers.
Entries and Fees
All entries are to be made and paid online via www.stardom.com.au using the Stardom payment system.
Entries close Friday 10 April 2026, 11:59 pm ACST (Adelaide time)
No late entries will be accepted.
The Arnold Matters Vocal Scholarship
Arnold Matters OAM was an Australian operatic baritone, teacher and producer whose career was made mostly in England during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. He was born in Malvern, Adelaide, South Australia, and at first took up a position in the Public Service, but in his spare time pursued his interests in music and singing. In 1927 he won the Sun Aria Contest in Ballarat and began to attract attention, including that of Dame Nellie Melba. He went to London in 1929 and in 1932 was engaged by Sadler’s Wells where he spent eight years singing principal baritone roles. He returned to Australia in 1941 to join the Armed Forces and then spent the war in entertainment and welfare work. After the war he returned to Sadler’s Wells, becoming a mainstay of the company, before returning to Australia in the mid-1950s to begin teaching at the Elder Conservatorium in Adelaide. He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1985 for “service to music, particularly as an opera singer and teacher”.
Following the death of Arnold Matters OAM in 1990, the Adelaide Eisteddfod Development Fund Management Committee announced the creation of the Arnold Matters Vocal Scholarship Trust, inviting donations from the music community. To further support the Trust, a fundraising performance of Verdi’s Requiem was held in Elder Hall in May 1993.
Offered biennially since 1992, the Arnold Matters Vocal Scholarship is the Adelaide Eisteddfod Society’s most prestigious award, providing support to an individual who shows the potential to pursue a professional vocal career; to assist their development through further education, mentoring and experience.
The Arnold Matters Vocal Scholarship previous winners include:
| 2024: Phoebe Paine 2022: James Emerson 2018: Alexandra Ioan 2016: Karina Bailey 2014: Sarah Jane Pattichis 2012: Ian Andrew | 2010: Robert MacFarlane 2008: Lauren Easton 2006: Patrick Lim 2004: Andrew Turner 2002: Maxine Montgomery 2000: Erika Tolano | 1998: Matthew Henrick 1996: Alison Farr 1994: Grant Doyle 1992: Vanessa Benger |
Dawn Wallace Award
The Friends of State Opera SA have sponsored the Dawn Wallace Award since 1982. Dawn Wallace was Secretary of the Friends of the State Opera for 23 years and a great supporter of classical singers of all ages.
We are incredibly grateful to The Friends of State Opera SA for their continued support of the Vocal Division and young/emerging singers.
The Friends of State Opera SA Dawn Wallace Award previous winners include:
| 2025: Gianna Guttilla 2023: Callum McGing 2021: Victoria Coxhill 2019: Dione Baker 2017: Karina Bailey 2015: Sarah Jane Pattichis | 2013: Lisa Cannizzaro 2011: Naomi Hede 2009: Lachlan Scott 2007: Lauren Easton 2005: 2003: Pelham Andrews | 2001: Lisa Robinson 1999: Daniella Ruggiero 1997: Lindsey Day 1995: Teresa La Rocca 1993: Vanessa Benger |
Vocal Division Convenor: Fiona McArdle
Vocal Division Assistant Convenor: Jemimah Lanyon