US-based Australian conductor Carolyn Watson shares with us a current commissioning project for women composers.
This month we focus on Carolyn Watson, an Australian conductor who is making waves in the U.S. as Principal Guest Conductor of the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra and Director of Orchestras at the University of Illinois. In her article Programming for a New World, she sets out her thoughts on how best to improve the connection between classical musicians and their audiences utilising creative programming.
An article written for the Women’s Philharmonic Advocacy on the 1874 Project, a commissioning initiative launched by Carolyn at the University of Illinois.
Fresh from The Dallas Opera’s Hart Institute summer residency at The Juilliard School, conductor Carolyn Watson writes about what this unique opportunity means…
Renowned conductor Dr. Carolyn Watson gets back to us with some more of her favorite pieces for high-level youth orchestras. These tried and tested compositions offer a variety of musical and pedagogical experiences for your young players, with plenty to challenge and develop all sections of your orchestra!
As she prepares for Dallas Opera's Institute for Women Conductors, the Aussie maestro discusses gender equality on the podium.
Renowned conductor Dr. Carolyn Watson shares with us some of her favorite pieces for talented young orchestras in this two-part article.
Some two years ago I had just returned home to Sydney after five months away on an extended Churchill Fellowship. This trip encompassed the 2012 Emmerich Kálmán International Operetta and Musical Conducting Competition in Budapest, a stint in Hannover at the Staatsoper, a period in London, a choral conference and festival in Sweden, language studies in Rome and an inspiring month in New York at The Metropolitan Opera…
Composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein famously said, “to achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan and not quite enough time.” This philosophy underlines my repertoire selection and programming decisions for the young orchestras with which I work…
Conductor Carolyn Watson writes from Melbourne about a unique choral experience.
For ten years, the State Library of Victoria has been offering Creative Fellowships to scholars and artists interested in investigating the resources and collections held within the library. In 2013-14, the Library offered four special Dome Centenary Fellowships to commemorate the centenary of the library's famed domed La Trobe Reading Room…
Having spent two years in Hungary in the late 1990s I fondly think of Budapest as something of a second home. Invited to return as one of the twelve semi-finalists of the 2012 Emmerich Kálmán International Operetta-Musical Conducting Competition then, was more than an opportunity to compete and conduct…
Conductor Carolyn Watson writes from Berlin on her most recent operatic experience…
A blog article for the Australian Music Centre on Matthew Hindson’s Dangerous Creatures, the US premiere of which was conducted by Carolyn with the La Porte County Symphony Orchestra in February 2025.