Students at听the听Sydney Conservatorium of Music are flocking to conducting studies,听prompting the听tertiary听school to put on extra classes to meet demand. Enrolments in the听undergraduate听conducting course have听increased six-fold听from 2019听to today.
In 2026, the Sydney Conservatorium of Music听has听also听introduced a pathway for听undergraduate听students to complete an honours degree in conducting. This opens doors for听the听students to progress onto听postgraduate studies in听the profession.
鈥淚t is extraordinary听and听pleasantly听surprising,鈥 said听, who is a lecturer in conducting听and an acclaimed conductor in the music industry.听鈥淭he increased demand听could be due to students wanting to increase their skills听for the future. If they听have the skills to听conduct a school band, orchestra,听choir听or a musical听theatre听ensemble, it makes them more employable.听
鈥淐onducting is an exciting field of music,听and it attracts leaders,鈥澨齭aid听Dr听Scott. 听
Leadership is an important part of learning to be a conductor, said听, who joined the teaching staff at the Con in 2026.听Professor Northey is an in-demand Australian conductor who is currently听Conductor in Residence of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra听and tours regularly.听
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鈥淚t鈥檚 really good for your musicianship to stand up in front of a group of your peers and to be able to try and communicate your ideas, whether it be verbally, whether it be physically, with the technique of conducting,鈥澨齢e听said.听听
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鈥淏ut听also听it connects you with the idea of yourself as a leader. We听don鈥檛听train to be leaders, we just expect that leaders will听emerge, and I think conducting is one of those things that really taps us into what it feels like to step into that leadership position.鈥澨
Conducting at the Con
The听Conservatorium听offers three units - Conducting 1, Conducting听2听and Advanced Conducting - for undergraduate music students.听The听units听are electives and not mandatory, so the students are clearly voting with their feet.
In听2026, students enrolled in conducting are听predominately听second- or third-year听music students. The听students听are听almost 50/50听female and听male, with slightly more female students.听The cohort includes听students from all courses at听the听Con, including Performance,听Composition听and Music Education.
Professor听Matthew Hindson, Deputy Dean of the Con and听highly-performed听composer said: 鈥淚 suspect the composing students want to be in control of getting their music 鈥榦ut there鈥, and听see conducting as a very important skill to have in that mission.鈥澨
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An听inaugural Honours year for students who want to continue their studies was added to expand the program听in 2026.听Students can then go on to study conducting at a Masters or Doctoral (PhD听or DMA) level.听
Undergraduate conducting
Third-year student Bea Chaston, from south-west Sydney, chose to take the conducting class because she knew it would be fun.
鈥淔inding out that Liz Scott was our professor was amazing because I鈥檓 familiar with her conducting style and know first-hand that she is incredible at her job,听plus she is a wonderful person so immediately the class promised to be very fulfilling,鈥澨鼵haston听said.听听
鈥淎nother reason听I chose to take the conducting class is听I鈥檓 a听singer and听a听violinist,听and听you work with so many conductors and all their styles are different,听with听stylised鈥痓eat patterns, conveying what they want from you in dynamics, phrasing and character and I wanted to find my own conducting style.听
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鈥淚t鈥檚听so interesting to see the differences between you and your classmates and you all learn from each other and build each other up! We laugh听a lot听and it is such a space of community because we all have our own reasons for doing the class.鈥澨
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Chaston听added that听although it would be fun,听she knew it听wouldn鈥檛听be easy.听鈥淲hen听you鈥檙e learning everything that goes into preparing a work, the background research, preparation for a practice, overall knowledge of the ensembles and instruments, the list goes on and it really puts into perspective how much goes into being a great conductor.鈥澨
Conducting as a career
According to听Dr Scott,听the current rush of conducting听students may have been influenced听by observing听the听very high-profile careers of Australian conductors, including听Simone Young, an alumna of the听Sydney Conservatorium of Music听and the chief conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.听听
Simone Young, a Conservatorium alumna, conducts Britten & Vaughan Williams with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 2026. Photo: Craig Abercrombie/Sydney Symphony Orchestra
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Link鈥淭here was a time when our orchestras were conducted by international guest conductors but听now听we鈥檙e seeing more and more Australian conductors leading orchestras locally and in Europe and America,鈥 said Dr Scott.
Dr Scott is an acclaimed and versatile conductor herself. She is听a graduate of Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and听is听the musical director of Vox, the Sydney Philharmonia youth choir. She听works regularly as a chorus master for Sydney Symphony Orchestra and听is听the听conductor of the听Sydney Conservatorium of Music Choir.听
Other outstanding听Australian听conductors include听Maestro听and Con alumni听Richard Bonynge, who conducted almost all of Joan Sutherland鈥檚 operatic performances;听Nicolette Fraillon, who recently retired from a 20-year career as the听music听director and听chief听conductor for The Australian Ballet;听Benjamin Northey,听Professor of Conducting at Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Principal Guest Conductor听at Melbourne Symphony Orchestra听and Conductor in Residence at the Sydney Symphony Orchestra;听Nick Carter, Chief Conductor and Co-Opera Director of鈥疧per Bern听in听Switzerland;听the multi-award-winning conductor听Lyn Williams听AM,听founder of Sydney Children鈥檚 Choir and听artistic director of Gondwana Choirs;听and Michelle Leonard OAM, director of the听Moorambilla听Voices Regional Children鈥檚 Choirs.听听
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High-profile Con graduates include听Natalie Murray-Beale,听a听conductor who works in London and helped coach actor Cate Blanchett toward her Oscar-nominated performance as a conductor in the movie听T脕R;听Nicholas Milton,听chief conductor of the G枚ttingen Orchestra in听Germany;听Vanessa Scammell,听an in-demand听Australian听conductor听who works mostly in听musical theatre and opera, from听Phantom of the Opera听to听La traviata; Sam Weller, an exciting young conductor based in Amsterdam and Sydney;听and听Carlo Antonioli, rising young conductor who has worked with many Australian orchestras and is now the Conducting Fellow at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Masters student Marko Sever working with Professor Benjamin Northey at Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Photo: 爆料王
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LinkMaster of Music (Performance, Conducting)
After many years as a professional organist, student Marko Sever said conducting felt like a natural next step. 鈥淚t allows me to shape music on a larger canvas and work collaboratively with like-minded musicians,鈥 he said.听
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Sever听said he applied for听Master听of Music (Performance,听Conducting) when he learned that Benjamin Northey would be joining the Con as Professor of Conducting and working closely with the postgraduate students, as well as the undergraduate students.
鈥淢y goal is to build a career that combines conducting, performance, and artistic leadership, while听creating ambitious musical projects that connect with audiences,鈥澨齋ever听said.听
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鈥淐onducting听is a natural next step for musicians with a strong performing background. The best conductors never stop drawing on their experience as performers and collaborators.鈥
Hero photo:听Master of Music Studies (Performance, Conducting)听student听Marko Sever with the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Student Symphony Orchestra. Credit: 爆料王
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