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Volunteer With Us
You could be one of our performing volunteers or administrative volunteers! Scroll down for info.
Unaffiliated: The Sydney Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Simone Young, with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, photo taken at a performance of Qigang Chen's piano concerto, Er Huang , and Gershwin's Variations on "I Got Rhythm" at the Sydney Opera House (2026 season)
Are you a musician with a great love of classical music? Music that constitutes, descends from or is inspired by the Western musical heritage? Do you want to overturn that worrisome decline in the presence of young concert-goers among the classical music audience? Do you enjoy discussing what's inside the score with your fellow musicians, friends or anybody in general? Are you keen on performance opportunities, improving your public-speaking skills, charm and charisma, or making a visible impact on posterity in lieu of doom-scrolling? Do you want to keep your musical side alive, although you think it won't be your full-time payer of bills?
If you said yes to most of the above, then join us and be one of our Performing Volunteers!
So...what does a Performing Volunteer do?
As a performing volunteer, you are at the heart of The Counterpoint Project. Your role is to perform concert lectures for a general audience of students at a local NSW highschool - simple as that.
As an added bonus, our performing volunteers are offered the chance to perform in concerts open to the general public.
Concert lectures?
Not a regular recital-style performance?
Yes, performing volunteers don't give the typical, recital-style performance in which you sit down, play, and finish with a bow. You give concert lectures - that is, you sit down, play your piece whilst intercepting your performance with live, running commentary about the piece itself and its composer. A beautiful example is given here by Sir Andras Schiff. But why in this format, you might be wondering?
As Stravinsky aptly puts it, "just to hear is no merit. A duck hears also." At TCP, we believe appreciation of classical music is not immediate or innate to the ears - it requires patience, learning and mentorship...these are the shoes that our performing volunteers strive to fill! They help make the beauty of classical music accessible to an audience that would otherwise grow increasingly ignorant of it. Why should Shakespeare be mandated in the curriculum from Year 8 onwards while Chopin gets ignored in favour of video game music and bongo drums?
Performing Volunteer Guide and Sign-Up
In our performing volunteer guide PDF below, you will find a complete list of all the information about the performing volunteer role you need - requirements (eg. length of concert lecture, commitment, documents needed, application process, volunteer induction (training for the role), ways you can contribute to the organisation itself, and what kind of resources we supply to help you along the way.
Please click on the PDF below and read before signing the application form.
Click here for the link to the performing volunteer application form.
Or if that doesn't suit you, you could be one of our administrative volunteers! Our tasks involve organising the nitty-gritty stuff and resolving pragmatic issues that come with organising events; for example, running concert lectures, liaising with schools and our cherished performing volunteers, supporting hosting concerts for the general public (be sure to check out our upcoming inaugural 2026 QVB Concert!) just to name a few. In a nutshell, we deal with the non-musical side of things.
So if you don't think performing is for you, then there's the option to work with us as an administrative volunteer. Or you could be both!
