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Welcome to the Sydney Conservatorium of Music

Welcome from the Dean

Dean of the Conservatorium, Kim Walker

The Sydney Conservatorium of Music, a faculty of the University of Sydney, is a magical and wonderful place. Since the Conservatorium's inception in 1915 it has been reinventing the musical experience. As a forum for interpreting culture through music and the arts, our talented international students and visitors engage with the dynamic music and ideas of our time, as well as with the great master's and musical traditions dating back to antiquity.

The Sydney Conservatorium is a distinctive part of the educational and arts nucleus that celebrates all that is unique to New South Wales while contributing to music worldwide.

The strength and heart of the Conservatorium’s rise to excellence lies with its faculty staff and their significant contributions: their research, their creative activity and the courses they teach. Among the teaching staff are award-winning composers, world-class scholars and acclaimed musicians, many of whom perform with the finest orchestras and ensembles in the world.

Our music education and musicology units are internationally recognised for their expertise in areas such as Australian and Pacific indigenous musics, music practice in Bali, children’s song, 20th century modernism, medieval and baroque music, as well as classical and romantic music performance practices.

The Conservatorium offers an outstanding ensemble and chamber music program for students and the community. There are regular master classes and lectures by illustrious visiting artists and scholars, including some of the greatest names in the music world.

In the increasingly global music conversation the Conservatorium has ensured that its postgraduate courses remain among the finest in the world and more easily enable its graduates to take their place in the international music market. Graduate courses range from the practical graduate certificate and diploma levels through to research master's and PhD doctorates in all specialisations.

In 2008, a new Doctor of Musical Arts program became available as a professional doctorate in music performance, combining high-level performance with rigorous scholarship and writing.

The Conservatorium provides pathways and opportunities for graduate students to perform in professional ensembles such as the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra and the Sydney Symphony.

The Sydney Conservatorium of Music’s alumni enjoy exceptional careers worldwide as leading performers and scholars in the finest musical company and on the faculty of prestigious music schools and universities. These include conductors Simone Young, Geoffrey Parsons, Charles Mackerras and Richard Bonynge, violinist Richard Tognetti, pianists Roger Woodward and Alexey Yemstov, vocalists Marilyn Richardson and David Wakeham, jazz virtuoso James Morrison, composers Peter Sculthorpe, Elena Kats-Chernin, Michael Smetanin and Matthew Hindson, and countless others.

Additionally the Conservatorium has international student exchange agreements with highly regarded music institutions such as the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music in London, and the Musikhochschule, Freiburg im Breisgau in Germany.

International students from over 20 countries choose the Sydney Conservatorium of Music for their studies. Competitive scholarships and awards are available for the top talent in all realms. In 2009, we anticipate awarding scholarships worth more than $500,000.

All students, local and international, undergraduate and postgraduate, are considered for over 80 merit-based scholarships, awarded to those who demonstrate excellence in their studies. In addition, other scholarships, financial aid and course fee relief (for postgraduate students) are awarded by the Conservatorium. Students may also be eligible for University of Sydney scholarship funding.

The Conservatorium complex provides a place for musicians of all ages to engage in the creation, performance and study of music in all its forms. The spirit of great music lives in every room and on every stage at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. The foyer, an extraordinary showplace of the University of Sydney, invites audiences to enter some of the finest performance spaces in Australia including the beautifully restored Verbrugghen Hall, two recital halls and an opera teaching and performance space.

A music technology suite, an excellent library, a world-class research centre and numerous teaching and practice rooms add to the Conservatorium’s unique position worldwide.

Finally, our concert programs combine student orchestra and ensemble concerts, faculty recitals, visiting conductors and guest artist performances with an exciting and extensive chamber music program. These are attracting audiences from all over the city and providing a unique and enriching learning and performance opportunity for all our students.

Music is the most universal language ever developed and nowhere is it spoken more eloquently than here in Sydney. We invite you to join our conversation and welcome you to our venue.

Professor Kim Walker
Dean, Sydney Conservatorium of Music

Our mission

The Sydney Conservatorium of Music is an innovative cultural catalyst inspiring the study, research, creation and performance of music in all its forms to prepare students for artistic performance and scholarship at the highest level of excellence, to foster lifelong commitment to music and culture and to provide enjoyment and enlightenment to all people.

Graduate attributes

Graduates of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music will have a certain stance towards knowledge, the world, and themselves that sets them apart from other graduates in their lives and work.

SCHOLARSHIP – an attitude or stance towards knowledge
Graduates will have a scholarly attitude to knowledge and understanding. As scholars, the University's graduates will be leaders in the production of new knowledge and understanding through inquiry, critique and synthesis. They will be able to apply their knowledge to solve consequential problems and communicate their knowledge confidently and effectively.

GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP – an attitude or stance towards the world
Graduates will be global citizens, who will aspire to contribute to society in a full and meaningful way through their roles as members of local, national and global communities.

LIFELONG LEARNING – an attitude or stance towards oneself
Graduates will be lifelong learners committed to and capable of continuous learning and reflection for the purpose of furthering their understanding of the world and their place in it.

Students will be supported to achieve these broad outcomes during their studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music through the development of the following generic attributes:

Research and inquiry

Students of the University will be able to develop new knowledge and understanding through the process of research and inquiry. For example, they will:

  • be able to identify, define and analyse problems in written work, composition, teaching or performance and identify or create processes to solve them
  • be able to exercise critical judgement and critical thinking in creating new understanding in relation to some or all of the following: music analysis, music composition, music education, music history, music technology, and music performance
  • be creative, imaginative and independent thinkers in their artistic endeavours
  • have an informed understanding of the principles, standards, values and boundaries of current music knowledge, pedagogy and performance practice
  • be able to question critically and to evaluate current music knowledge of compositional, pedagogical and performance practices, acknowledging global and historical diversity and recognising the limitations of their own knowledge.
Information literacy

Students of the University will be able to use information effectively in a range of contexts. For example, they will:

  • be able to recognise the extent of information needed for professional and informed music performance, composition, teaching and research
  • locate needed information efficiently and effectively using a variety of printed, audiovisual and digital media and online sources
  • evaluate information and its sources
  • use information in critical thinking and problem-solving contexts to construct knowledge and improve music composition, performance or teaching
  • understand economic, legal, social and cultural issues in the use of printed, audiovisual and online information
  • use contemporary technology and audiovisual media to access and manage information
  • recognise the importance of observation of the composition, performance and music education practices of others, as a source of knowledge.
Personal and intellectual autonomy

Students of the University will be able to work independently and sustainably, in a way that is informed by openness, curiosity and a desire to meet new challenges. For example, they will:

  • be intellectually curious and able to sustain intellectual interest
  • be capable of rigorous and independent thinking
  • be open to new ideas, methods and ways of thinking
  • be able to respond effectively to unfamiliar problems in unfamiliar contexts
  • be able to identify processes and strategies to learn and meet new challenges in scholarly work, composition, teaching or performance
  • be independent learners who take responsibility for their own learning
  • recognise and be able to undertake lifelong learning through reflection, self-evaluation and self-improvement
  • have a personal vision and goals, and be able to work towards these in a sustainable way by establishing good work practices in music scholarship, composition, teaching or performance.
Ethical, social and professional understanding

Students of the University will hold personal values and beliefs consistent with their role as responsible members of local, national, international and professional communities. For example, they will:

  • strive for truth, honesty, integrity, open-mindedness, fairness and generosity
  • acknowledge their personal responsibility for their own value judgements and behaviour
  • understand and accept social, cultural, global and environmental responsibilities
  • be committed to social justice
  • have an appreciation of and respect for diversity
  • hold a perspective that acknowledges local, national and international concerns
  • work with, manage, and lead others in music teaching contexts, research partnerships or performance ensembles in ways that value their diversity and equality and that facilitate their contribution to the group and to the wider community.
Communication

Students of the University will recognise and value communication as a tool for negotiating and creating new understanding, interacting with others, and furthering their own learning. For example, they will:

  • use oral, aural, written and visual communication to further their own learning
  • make effective use of appropriate forms of communication to critique, negotiate and create understanding
  • use spoken, audiovisual, written media and music performance as communication tools for interacting with and relating to others.