Students at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music are flocking to conducting studies, prompting the tertiary school to put on extra classes to meet demand. Enrolments in the undergraduate conducting course have increased six-fold from 2019 to today.
In 2026, the Sydney Conservatorium of Music has also introduced a pathway for undergraduate students to complete an honours degree in conducting. This opens doors for the students to progress onto postgraduate studies in the profession.
“It is extraordinary and pleasantly surprising,” said Dr Elizabeth Scott, who is a lecturer in conducting and an acclaimed conductor in the music industry. “The increased demand could be due to students wanting to increase their skills for the future. If they have the skills to conduct a school band, orchestra, choir or a musical theatre ensemble, it makes them more employable.
“Conducting is an exciting field of music, and it attracts leaders,” said Dr Scott.
Leadership is an important part of learning to be a conductor, said Professor Benjamin Northey, who joined the teaching staff at the Con in 2026. Professor Northey is an in-demand Australian conductor who is currently Conductor in Residence of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and tours regularly.
“It’s 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,” he said.
“But also it connects you with the idea of yourself as a leader. We don’t train to be leaders, we just expect that leaders will 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.”
Conducting at the Con
The Conservatorium offers three units - Conducting 1, Conducting 2 and Advanced Conducting - for undergraduate music students. The units are electives and not mandatory, so the students are clearly voting with their feet.
In 2026, students enrolled in conducting are predominately second- or third-year music students. The students are almost 50/50 female and male, with slightly more female students. The cohort includes students from all courses at the Con, including Performance, Composition and Music Education.
Professor Matthew Hindson, Deputy Dean of the Con and highly-performed composer said: “I suspect the composing students want to be in control of getting their music ‘out there’, and see conducting as a very important skill to have in that mission.”
An inaugural Honours year for students who want to continue their studies was added to expand the program in 2026. Students can then go on to study conducting at a Masters or Doctoral (PhD or DMA) level.
Undergraduate conducting
Third-year student Bea Chaston, from south-west Sydney, chose to take the conducting class because she knew it would be fun.
“Finding out that Liz Scott was our professor was amazing because I’m familiar with her conducting style and know first-hand that she is incredible at her job, plus she is a wonderful person so immediately the class promised to be very fulfilling,” Chaston said.
Dr Elizabeth Scott with undergraduate student Bea Chaston. Photo: University of Sydney
50
automatic
Link“Another reason I chose to take the conducting class is I’m a singer and a violinist, and you work with so many conductors and all their styles are different, with stylised beat patterns, conveying what they want from you in dynamics, phrasing and character and I wanted to find my own conducting style.
“It’s 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 a lot and it is such a space of community because we all have our own reasons for doing the class.”
Chaston added that although it would be fun, she knew it wouldn’t be easy. “When you’re 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.”
Conducting as a career
According to Dr Scott, the current rush of conducting students may have been influenced by observing the very high-profile careers of Australian conductors, including Simone Young, an alumna of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the chief conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
Simone Young, a Conservatorium alumna, conducts Britten & Vaughan Williams with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 2026. Photo: Craig Abercrombie/Sydney Symphony Orchestra
50
automatic
Link“There was a time when our orchestras were conducted by international guest conductors but now we’re seeing more and more Australian conductors leading orchestras locally and in Europe and America,” said Dr Scott.
Dr Scott is an acclaimed and versatile conductor herself. She is a graduate of Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and is the musical director of Vox, the Sydney Philharmonia youth choir. She works regularly as a chorus master for Sydney Symphony Orchestra and is the conductor of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music Choir.
Other outstanding Australian conductors include Maestro and Con alumni Richard Bonynge, who conducted almost all of Joan Sutherland’s operatic performances; Nicolette Fraillon, who recently retired from a 20-year career as the music director and chief conductor for The Australian Ballet; Benjamin Northey, Professor of Conducting at Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Principal Guest Conductor at Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Conductor in Residence at the Sydney Symphony Orchestra; Nick Carter, Chief Conductor and Co-Opera Director of Oper Bern in Switzerland; the multi-award-winning conductor Lyn Williams AM, founder of Sydney Children’s Choir and artistic director of Gondwana Choirs; and Michelle Leonard OAM, director of the Moorambilla Voices Regional Children’s Choirs.
High-profile Con graduates include Natalie Murray-Beale, a conductor who works in London and helped coach actor Cate Blanchett toward her Oscar-nominated performance as a conductor in the movie TÁR; Nicholas Milton, chief conductor of the Göttingen Orchestra in Germany; Vanessa Scammell, an in-demand Australian conductor who works mostly in musical theatre and opera, from Phantom of the Opera to La traviata; Sam Weller, an exciting young conductor based in Amsterdam and Sydney; and 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: University of Sydney
50
automatic
LinkMaster of Music (Performance, Conducting)
After many years as a professional organist, student Marko Sever said conducting felt like a natural next step. “It allows me to shape music on a larger canvas and work collaboratively with like-minded musicians,” he said.
Sever said he applied for Master of Music (Performance, 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.
“My goal is to build a career that combines conducting, performance, and artistic leadership, while creating ambitious musical projects that connect with audiences,” Sever said.
“Conducting 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.”
Hero photo: Master of Music Studies (Performance, Conducting) student Marko Sever with the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Student Symphony Orchestra. Credit: University of Sydney
Media contact
Manual Name : Elissa Blake
Manual Description :
Manual Address :
Manual Addition Info Title :
Manual Addition Info Content :
Profile image :
Manual Type : contact
_self
Auto Type : contact
Auto Addition Title :
Auto Addition Content :
Auto Name : true
Auto Position : true
Auto Profile image :
Auto Phone Number : false
Auto Mobile Number : true
Auto Email Address : true
Auto Address : false
UUID :