Fostering the next generation of cultural leaders

The nationalised Australian Conducting Academy commenced in 2022 enabled by a $2 million investment from the state orchestras and a start-up grant from The Ian Potter Foundation. Griffith University joined the partnership, providing a PhD candidate to evaluate and assess the program, and conductor Johannes Fritzsch came on board as course director.

Over a two year period,  participants – who are selected via a highly competitive audition process – work with each of the state symphony orchestras (TSO, QSO, SSO, MSO, ASO and WASO), Orchestra Victoria and Auckland Philharmonia.

This provides them with opportunities across all orchestral genres as well as opera and ballet, collaborations with contemporary artists and performing film scores to a live screening.

The ACA participants receive mentoring from the world’s leading conductors, including Eivind Aadland, Asher Fisch, Mark Wigglesworth, Donald Runnicles, and Simon Halsey.

In early November 2024, the TSO hosted the final training module for the five participants of the 2023-2024 ACA program, Carlo Antonioli (from NSW), Nathaniel Griffiths (Qld), Leonard Weiss (Vic), Sam Weller (originally from NSW and now based in Amsterdam) and Ingrid Martin (originally from Vic and now based in Auckland).

Meet Australia's rising stars of conducting

Sam Weller, 26, started his music career as a saxophone player, inspired by his parents’ love of classical music, which they played at loud volume on car trips. At 16 he conducted his high school orchestra’s performance of the William Tell Overture at the Sydney Opera House.

Now based in the Netherlands, Sam is currently working as a freelance conductor in Europe and Australia.

‘It’s really exciting when you get to the stage as a conductor. It's a high-pressure job in that you have to work really fast, don't have a lot of time, and you have to unite a large group of people,’ Sam says.

‘This training program has been incredibly valuable. It's not often that you get to meet so many different orchestras in one country, and have experienced conductors telling what we can improve on. It's helped me build a relationship with many of the Australian orchestras,’ he adds.

Fellow ACA participant Ingrid Martin has worked with the MSO, QSO and TSO and is currently New Zealand assistant conductor-in-residence based in Auckland, working with three of New Zealand's orchestras.

In this ABC article, Ingrid describes the role of conductor as 'really the musical coach of a giant team of players'.

'Our job is to guide both the musicians and the audience on the musical journey that the composer has written for us,' she says.

'It takes a lot of humility, empathy, vulnerability and courage to put your personal stamp on the music because that's what the musicians really want, it's what inspires them.'

The TSO’s Director of Artistic Development Kim Waldock leads the ACA from Hobart, facilitating the partnership between the orchestras including the audition process, which is held in Adelaide.

‘Conducting cannot be learnt at university or through books – it is an experiential learning-by doing thing. The chance to work with Australia’s top orchestras and receive ongoing feedback from musicians who are invested in the process while learning on the job, is an opportunity second to none,’ Kim says.

‘When visiting international conductors come and guest mentor in the program and tell us there is nothing quite like it in the world – we can be sure we are on the right track. It is terrific that it is something all the Australian state orchestras feel so passionate about and the conductors are so lucky to be trained by many of the world’s leading conductors.’

As well as training in a broad range of musical genres, ACA participants receive mentoring in other aspects of cultural leadership, such as conflict resolution in orchestral settings; working with composers; working with indigenous artists; and working with dancers.

The participants for the next round of the ACA, for 2025-26, have been selected and will begin their training early next year under the leadership of incoming course director Benjamin Northey.