I will make this evening's report brief; you are probably getting a bit weary of reading about performers whom you will never have the chance to hear. Such a pity. Cabaret is a vigorous art and it is alive and well here in Sydney, thanks to the efforts of Geoffrey Williams and Gabrielle Ewington from the Cultural Affairs Unit of the City of Sydney and consultant extraordinaire Michael Freundt of Tilbury Productions, as well as all those other lovers of this experience who organised and contributed to the sponsorship of this Convention (Ted Davis and Sorlies Cabaret at the Glen Street Theatre, Qantas, the Sebel of Sydney and Donald Smith of the Mabel Mercer Foundation).

As I said in my first report, the experience for young performers selected to participate in this showcase can be very demanding. Having had the opportunity to speak with many of these artists during the week, I know that they found it both terrifying and (awe-)inspiring. The hidden agenda of the week has been the development and nurturing of talent. Because Australia is so vast and performance opportunities are limited to selected venues in the large cities scattered over this continent, it has been difficult to develop a community of cabaret colleague-performers who can learn and share with one another the nuances of the craft. This Convention has become the means to achieve this purpose.

Yesterday afternoon, there was a meeting of various representatives of the entertainment industry and performers to discuss the ongoing creation of a cabaret touring circuit that is viable and ongoing. After all, it is not enough for young performers to learn their trade at places such as this convention; they must have somewhere to perform. In addition to this industry initiative, the Sydney Cabaret Convention once again sponsored a Master-class for four young performers under the direction of Kerrie Biddell, one of the most highly regarded jazz singers and teachers in Australia. That took place this afternoon. It is a sure thing that at least one of those four participants will be part of next year's Convention.

What can I say about this evening? There were two reasons for coming. Hearing performances from the five established acts and the two winners from last year's convention was certainly one. But the more important reason for being present in the ornate splendour of the main Town Hall, transformed for the evening into an elegant nightclub, was to hear who the winners of this year's convention were and listen to them perform once more. Second place went to Kerry-Ella who performed on the opening night. A belter whose work reminds me of Sharon McKnight, she sang only one number.

It was the first place winner - those of you fortunate enough to attend this year's New York Cabaret Convention will hear him - who captured the imagination of the full house. Peter J Casey will be a name to look out for. This 29 year-old entertainer was called back twice to perform encores in response to the generous ovation. If anything, he seemed even more assured and at ease than when originally heard on Tuesday night. Again he performed "Something" from the show Upstairs at O'Neal's, as well as two of his own songs. His wit, excellent keyboard technique and bright voice signal an important career ahead. This selection was very popular, but a number of those in the hall wondered about the absence of others for second place. Such is the luck of the draw.

And what of the headliners? Maree Johnson opened the festivities with a stunning set, but the highlight for me was Jason Robert Brown's "Stars and the Moon" from Songs For A New World. Johnson's gift lies in her exquisitely clear soprano that is always at the service of the story she is telling. Along with Peter J Casey, these two young entertainers will go a long way to addressing the "talent balance of payment" debt we owe to the USA with their imminent arrival in New York. Watch out for them.

There were two other Australian talents on the bill that should be exported: Bernadette Robinson and Paul Capsis. Both of these entertainers use homages to other showbiz great as the jumping off point for their acts and each of them has the uncanny knack of evoking their subjects (Piaf, Garland, Shirley Bassey or Dusty Springfield) in a way that is both original and exciting.

The final act was the duo of Elena Bennett and Fred Barton, guest artists of the Convention from New York. Their set was far more relaxed and effective than on opening night and had all of us in thrall. It would be hard to single out the highlight of their act because each song seemed to be informed with so much quality. They opened with "Day in, day out", moved on to Jerry Herman's Dolly ballad "Ribbons down my back", sizzled with a brace of Cole Porter songs from Kiss Me Kate, before closing with "Make someone happy" (Do Re Mi) and "Goodnight my someone" (Music Man). Here was another object lesson in how to create art without effort.

As if to echo that last number, the night ended with a bang when a marching band appeared to play "Seventy-six trombones,' the raucous incarnation of the Meredith Willson tune that ended the Bennett-Barton set. And as if that weren't enough, the enormous organ of the Town Hall was brought into service for a coda of Morricone. What a great finale to a glorious week.

As I said at the start of this piece, in all likelihood you will never have the pleasure of hearing many of the artists named in this report in New York or elsewhere in the USA. So why not do yourselves a huge favour and take a leap into the unknown by coming here to hear some of this "quality" first hand? Just because Sydney is thousands of miles away doesn't mean it and our talent are not worth the journey. Those of you who have enjoyed David Campbell, Judi Connelli, Combo Fiasco and Maree Johnson already know something about the quality of what is on offer.

As for those of you who are waiting until the occasion of the Olympics to head down south to the Antipodes, I can only advise you to reconsider. You risk the sharp pain of disappointment that comes from fighting crowds and seeing the backs of others' heads whilst waiting in immense queues. Why not come here a few months earlier, see next year's Sydney Cabaret Convention in person and return to watch the Games in the sanity and comfort of your homes, while telling all your friends about this extraordinary city and the talent of our cabaret artists.

Now to begin to dream about next year's Sydney Cabaret Convention....