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Where can a degree from Sydney Conservatorium of Music take you?

14 May 2020

Graduate with a University qualification from the nation’s premier tertiary music institution

A career in music can take you all over the world. There’s a wide array of opportunities for the composers, performers, educators and scholars in the pursuit of musical excellence.

Studying with us prepares you for a wide variety of graduate careers. Our degree programs at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels underscore the four key areas of performance, composition, music education, and musicology. Mentored by leaders in your chosen field, you may specialise in your area of interest or explore combinations of areas to satisfy your creative energies. Each one supports a variety of career pathways and personal ambitions:

Postgraduate

Postgraduate research

Our graduates go on to have successful careers in the music industry:

“Throughout my time at the Con I was lucky enough to start my own orchestra, which has since grown into a fully-fledged organisation. Watching the orchestra grow and deliver stunning performances has been particularly heart-warming and rewarding to watch. I was also lucky to tour to Italy with my saxophone quartet as part of a travel scholarship delivering some of my most memorable performances.”

Sam Weller
Artistic and Musical Director of Ensemble Apex
Bachelor of Music (Performance)

“Working with kids everyday never ceases to amaze me - I have so much to learn from them, including their musical interests! Music teaching has taken me to the most incredible places, I never expected to move out the desert, and I am working with the most incredible students and colleagues.”

Jessica Wight
Performing Arts Teacher, Alice Springs
Bachelor of Music (Music Education)

Introducing... The Freestyle Orchestra

Female performing with violin and fire — Andrej Grilc Photography

“I have a focus on fusing classical music with elements of modern circus and theatre, and specialise in fire performance and aerial arts. As founder/artistic director of The Freestyle Orchestra - a collective of classically trained musicians with parallel skills in circus and movement arts - we explore different ways of presenting concerts and examine the interplay and intersectionalities between the physical and musical artist.”

Sonja Schebeck
Founder/Artistic Director, The Freestyle Orchestra
Bachelor of Music (Performance)

A career highlight for me was being invited to conduct the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra for two of their education programs, an orchestra that in my previous life as a freelance violist I had played with many times.

"The TSO feels like a second family to me, and it's always a great pleasure to return there."

Luke Spicer
0peratic and symphonic conductor
Master of Music Studies (Conducting)

This is Country

Evan Harris and Nick Pennington

“Pursuing a career in music is incredibly enriching, and its many perks reveal themselves to you in peculiar ways. Expect to be open to a number of options, because your career will unfold in ways you can't predict, and the music industry is evolving at a blistering pace. Despite this, there's still no substitute for good old-fashioned practice!”

Evan Harris
Saxophonist and Composer
Bachelor of Music (Jazz Performance), Honours First Class

“I have been so fortunate to enjoy many amazing experiences over the course of my career. Conducting the World Youth Day Orchestra in Sydney in 2008 for the Pope's arrival at Barangaroo was a highlight, as was a couple of years later finding myself in Europe standing in front of an orchestra comprising musicians of the Berlin Philharmonic, and assisting Sir Charles Mackerras on his two final productions at the English National Opera and Glyndebourne. Being among the prize winners at the 2012 Kálmán Conducting Competition in Hungary was also another evening for the books as it were, and winning the conducting position at Interlochen in 2013 really launched my career in the United States where I've been since then, enjoying all manner of work with professional opera, ballet and orchestral organisations - I am truly blessed!”

Carolyn Watson
Conductor
PhD in Performance (Conducting)

Verdi Witches' Dance from Macbeth

Carolyn Watson, Conductor
Dallas Opera Orchestra, Winspear Opera House

"Throughout my career I’ve been very fortunate to have had many highs. Most significant to me would be touring with the Sydney Youth Orchestra, an organisation I spent many years training with, to Europe performing Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto. I was fortunate enough to perform Haydn’s Concerto in Haydn Hall in Esterhazy Palace, Vienna (where the piece was premiered) with my old trumpet teacher, James Pensini, conducting the orchestra. This was a very special concert and I will cherish it for the rest of my life."

Owen Morris
Principal Trumpet, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Bachelor of music (Performance), Orchestral Trumpet

Did you know you can apply to get an early offer from the Con before you get your ATAR? Learn about our Creative Arts Special Admission Scheme.

Last updated July 2022