Music Performance

The Melbourne Conservatorium of Music is one of the most vibrant centres for undergraduate and graduate music performance study in Australia.

Study Music Performance at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music

You will be led by internationally renowned teachers and performers who are there to guide and develop your instrumental or vocal potential to the fullest.

Our students enjoy numerous opportunities to develop their technique and awareness through all performance programs. In most programs you experience individual instrumental or vocal lessons, weekly performance classes, public concerts, and master classes with distinguished national and international performers.

The Ensemble Performance Experience in the Conservatorium

You will be led by internationally renowned teachers and performers who are there to guide and develop your instrumental or vocal potential to the fullest.

Our students enjoy numerous opportunities to develop their technique and awareness through all performance programs. In most programs you experience individual instrumental or vocal lessons, weekly performance classes, public concerts, and master classes with distinguished national and international performers.

Included in the wealth of performance options at the University of Melbourne, is the opportunity for students to perform in our two flagship ensembles: the Symphony Orchestra led by director Associate Professor Richard Davis and the Wind Symphony led by director Associate Professor Jackie Hartenberger.

University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

The University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, led by world-renowned conductor Associate Professor Richard Davis and featuring our very best student classical musicians, is the premier large performance ensemble at the University.

Learn more about the University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

University of Melbourne Wind Symphony

The University of Melbourne Wind Symphony, directed by international conductor, Associate Professor Jackie Hartenberger features the most talented wind, brass and percussion students in the University.

Learn more about the University of Melbourne Wind Symphony

Music Performance courses

Instrument areas

Brass

Brass at the Conservatorium emphasises group learning and camaraderie with a dedication to hands-on training.
View details about Brass

Conducting

Our Conducting students learn a variety of techniques for mastery in their specialisation.
View details about Conducting

Early Music

We house a vast collection of early music resources and scores, and train our students in instrumental and vocal performance.
View details about Early Music

Guitar

Guitar at the Conservatorium is designed for students interested in the rich traditions of the guitar.
View details about Guitar

Harp

We invite you to embark on your harp journey with us, where your musical aspirations can flourish in a world-class learning environment.
View details about Harp

Jazz and Improvisation

Celebrate great Australian Jazz and improvised music performance in a unique studio-intensive approach that nurtures future music performers and directors through repertoire, improvisation skills and technical studies.
View details about Jazz and Improvisation

Keyboard

Our Keyboard program is one of the largest and most distinguished of any tertiary music program in Australia.
View details about Keyboard

New Music

The New Music Studio unites the disciplines of Composition and Performance for a broad range of contemporary music activities and events that are held each semester within the Faculty.
View details about New Music

Percussion

Graduating as a percussionist from the Conservatorium, you will be literate in the history and current practice of your craft.
View details about Percussion

Strings

The Conservatorium Strings program boasts a staff of the finest string players and teachers in Australia.
View details about Strings

Voice

Our students engage with leaders in vocal teaching and performance.
View details about Voice

Woodwind

We have a long history of excellence in Woodwind performance, including graduates who have achieved international success.
View details about Woodwind

I consider the faculty and individual tutors to be the most important people in developing my musicianship. The Conservatorium has some amazing staff on board who are very passionate about what they do. I decided to study at the Conservatorium due largely to the low brass teaching staff, particularly Timothy Buzbee.

Alexander Jeantou
Bachelor of Music, specialisation in Music Performance

Want to know more?

Get information on the courses you’re interested in, or ask our team a question.

Make an enquiry

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Conservatorium Events

  • Jazz and Improvisation Large Ensemble Feast #2 2026

    Thursday 8 October 2026 6:00pm - 10:00pm
    A night of eclectic sounds with the Jazz and Improvisation department showcasing the talents of our emerging contemporary improvisers and staff, as they perform in large ensembles. Featuring Masters & Apprentices directed by Andrea Keller, Big Band Mini directed by Vanessa Perica, Get on the ...
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  • Baroque Ensemble and Early Voices - End of Semester 2 Concert

    Friday 9 October 2026 - All day
    The Early Music Studio and Early Voices proudly presents a semester’s work from its students. Enjoy excerpts from Le bourgeois gentilhomme, by French classical music’s legendary master Lully which establishes colour and pageantry. Alongside pieces from the sackbut ensemble which explores the exci...
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  • Melba Hall 18: Chamber Choir

    Monday 12 October 2026 1:10pm - 2:00pm
    The much-loved Melba Hall Lunch Hour Concert Series returns for Semester 2 2026. Each week will feature a different instrument or area, performed by undergraduate and postgraduate students of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and facilitated by academic staff. Join us for an intimate ...
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  • Jazz and Improvisation Small Ensemble Series #2 2026

    12 October 2026 - 13 October 2026
    These concerts present original small ensemble music from second and third year students in the Jazz and Improvisation program at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. Hear a new generation of creative musicians! Small Ensemble Series Schedule 12 October 2026, 7PM - Federation Hall 13 ...
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  • Jazz and Improvisation Small Ensemble Series #2 2026

    12 October 2026 - 13 October 2026
    These concerts present original small ensemble music from second and third year students in the Jazz and Improvisation program at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. Hear a new generation of creative musicians! Small Ensemble Series Schedule 12 October 2026, 7PM - Federation Hall 13 ...
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  • Canticles, rivers and horns: a homage to Britten

    Tuesday 13 October 2026 7:30pm - 8:30pm
    Join tenor Michael Petruccelli, pianist Andrea Katz, and horn player Carla Blackwood as they mark the 50th anniversary of Benjamin Britten’s passing. This special program pairs Britten’s deeply expressive 20th-century masterpieces with the timeless lyricism of his favorite composer, Franz Sch...
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  • Ripple Effect

    Wednesday 14 October 2026 - All day
    In its final concert of the year, the University of Melbourne Wind Symphony explores music shaped by the ocean, waterways and the landscapes and stories that surround them. Steven Bryant’s Ecstatic Waters opens the program with a vivid, immersive sound world of shimmering textures, powerful ...
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  • Interculturalism in Music: The theory and practice of combining Dontri Thai and ‘Western’ music

    Thursday 15 October 2026 5:30pm - 6:30pm
    Thai classical music (dontri Thai) and music rooted in the Euro-American tradition take fundamentally different approaches to pitch, rhythm, form, texture, timbre, and social function. Disparities in how these concepts and practices are understood and applied across the two traditions complicate ...
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  • ASQ and MCM in Concert: An Evening of String Quartets

    Thursday 15 October 2026 7:30pm - 10:00pm
    Join the Australian String Quartet and talented young musicians from the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music for a special evening celebrating the art of chamber music. The culmination of the ASQ’s residency at the Conservatorium, this concert brings together professional artists and emerging music...
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  • Overtures: Stories, Legends & Landscapes

    Friday 16 October 2026 7:00pm - 8:00pm
    MCM Philharmonic Orchestra Hansel and Gretel - fairy tale William Tell - legend Fingal’s Cave - landscape Romeo and Juliet - story Join the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music’s Philharmonic Orchestra for a concert filled with drama, romance, adventu...
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  • Melbourne Conservatorium Big Band and Jazz Orchestra

    Sunday 18 October 2026 6:00pm - 8:30pm
    Experience the energy and excitement of large ensemble jazz as the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music’s Big Band and Jazz Orchestra take to the stage at Kenneth Myer Auditorium. Featuring some of the Conservatorium’s emerging jazz and improvising musicians, the two ensembles present a dynamic...
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  • Melba Hall 19: Chamber Competition Finals

    Monday 19 October 2026 1:10pm - 2:00pm
    The much-loved Melba Hall Lunch Hour Concert Series returns for Semester 2 2026. Each week will feature a different instrument or area, performed by undergraduate and postgraduate students of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and facilitated by academic staff. Join us for an intimate ...
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  • Conservatorium Choir - Semester 2 2026

    Tuesday 20 October 2026 7:00pm - 8:00pm
    Conservatorium Choir is a large choir open to all voice types, focusing on Western choral repertoire, both sacred and secular, from the seventeenth century to the present day. Over the semester singers have improved their singing skills, including learning to pronounce texts in different...
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  • Dedications

    Tuesday 20 October 2026 7:30pm - 8:30pm
    The Sutherland Trio (Caroline Almonte, Molly Kadarauch and Elizabeth Sellars) together with their friends Danielle and Luca Arcaro perform an all-Australian program of works connected to the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music community. Featuring two world premieres, ‘Songs for Manny’ by Ella Mace...
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  • Composition Showcase: what you make of it.

    Wednesday 21 October 2026 - All day
    The Composition Honours cohort is proud to present ‘what you make of it’, a concert of all new premieres. Hear how each composer explores ‘connection’ - via themselves, their environment, architecture and musical structures. Featuring works by Francesco Rachetti, Joonwoo Kim, Oscar Jenkins-Wing a...
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  • Masters & Apprentices feat. Kris Davis

    Wednesday 21 October 2026 - All day
    Join Melbourne Conservatorium of Music Jazz & Improvisation students as they perform alongside GRAMMY‑winning pianist and composer Kris Davis, in this special Melbourne International Jazz Festival performance. Kris Davis has emerged as one of the most influential pianists and composers in...
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  • Tiento

    Thursday 22 October 2026 7:30pm - 9:00pm
    The MCM’s Leading Edge Guitar Ensemble Presents a diverse program of music for guitars by Bensa, Brouwer, Guinga, Piazzolla, Bonfa, De Vries and Murray. Nicole Brady’s new piece Tiento, commissioned by Peter and Rasika Crowley, will be premiered by PhD guitarist Chrystian Dozza. Program O...
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  • World Music Concert - Spring

    Friday 23 October 2026 6:00pm - 8:00pm
    Each semester University of Melbourne students learn musical traditions from around the world with our World Music Ensembles. At this year-end concert, celebrate their achievements at a concert featuring the Chinese Music Ensemble, African Music and Dance Ensemble, and World Music Choir.
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  • Tirsi morir volea

    Friday 23 October 2026 7:00pm - 8:00pm
    The Medieval and Renaissance Ensemble presents a programme of settings of Giovanni Battista Guarini’s Tirsi morir volea by composers including Philippe de Monte, Luca Marenzio, Carl Luython, and Giaches de Wert on original instruments, with readings from the poetry of Guarini. Program Gio...
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  • Jazz and Improvisation Grad Showcase

    Monday 26 October 2026 - All day
    Celebrate extraordinary emerging talents in a night of music featuring graduating students from the Jazz and Improvisation department at the University of Melbourne. Explore more Faculty of Fine Arts and Music events here.
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  • Vocal Ensemble - 20th Anniversary Celebration!

    Monday 26 October 2026 7:30pm - 9:00pm
    Celebrating 20 Years of Excellence For two decades, the Vocal Ensemble class has been a cornerstone of training and performance excellence for young artists. Under the direction of pianist Andrea Katz, the ensemble has served as a vital stepping stone for a new generation of opera and co...
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  • MYRIAD: Dances and Dragons

    Thursday 29 October 2026 7:00pm - 8:30pm
    Join MYRIAD, the Percussion Ensemble of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, for their latest offering of percussion works. This semester, MYRIAD is honoured to be premiering a new percussion sextet written for them by distinguished Australian composer Emeritus Professor Barry Conyngham AM...
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  • Jack Hancher - Guitar Perspectives

    Friday 30 October 2026 7:30pm - 8:30pm
    Guitar Perspectives presents world renowned concert artist, Jack Hancher, live in concert. Described by Gramophone Magazine as a guitarist with “youthful intensity tempered by sophisticated musical intelligence”, Jack Hancher is a unique voice of the classical guitar. In 2022, he won the pres...
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  • Keyboard Festival 2026: Dmitri Shostakovich’s Complete Preludes and Fugues Opus 87

    31 October 2026 - 1 November 2026
    The Keyboard Area staff of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music invites pianists and music lovers alike for a rare opportunity to hear the complete 24 Preludes and Fugues of Dmitri Shostakovich at the 2026 Keyboard Festival. Among the most distinguished pianists in Australia, these performan...
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  • Keyboard Festival 2026: Dmitri Shostakovich’s Complete Preludes and Fugues Opus 87

    31 October 2026 - 1 November 2026
    The Keyboard Area staff of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music invites pianists and music lovers alike for a rare opportunity to hear the complete 24 Preludes and Fugues of Dmitri Shostakovich at the 2026 Keyboard Festival. Among the most distinguished pianists in Australia, these performan...
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  • World Music Concert - Gamelan Gong Semester 2 2026

    Monday 2 November 2026 6:30pm - 8:00pm
    Each semester University of Melbourne students learn to perform musical traditions from Central Java on the UOM Gamelan. Come celebrate their achievements at a concert that also features the Melbourne Community Gamelan and Putra Panji Asmara.
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  • The Art of Us 2026

    Thursday 3 December 2026 5:00pm - 8:00pm
    Join the students, staff and alumni of the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Fine Arts and Music (FFAM) in a celebration of disability art in all its forms. Members of the FFAM community who identify as disabled, neurodivergent or Deaf will come together for a concert and multimedia exhibition...
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  • Southbank Series: Worlds Within

    Saturday 5 December 2026 7:30pm - 9:00pm
    The final concert of the 2026 Southbank Series brings the season to a deeply reflective close under the direction of Eivind Aadland, Chief Conductor of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. Program Missy Mazzoli: These Worlds in Us for Chamber Orchestra Richard Strauss: Metamorphosen fo...
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  • Gender Defying Jazz 2026

    8 November 2026 - 6 December 2026
    Gender Defying Jazz (GDJ) is a program run by Andrea Keller, Head of Jazz & Improvisation at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, University of Melbourne. Beginning in 2017 and originally called Girls Do Jazz, the name of the program has been changed to Gender Defying Jazz, to more truly re...
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News

New intercultural music composition captures the fragility and wonder of unique Melbourne grasslands

14 May 2026
Ahead of its premiere at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, Kate Tempany discusses her latest work, ‘Grasslands Suite’, which blends ecolog...
  • Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
  • Composition
  • Music Performance
View article for New intercultural music composition captures the fragility and wonder of unique Melbourne grasslands

New ‘ParaOrchestra’ for young musicians with disability seeks members for first cohort

21 April 2026
A new music performing ensemble for young people living with disability is currently seeking members for its inaugural cohort....
  • Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
  • Music Performance
  • Partnerships
View article for New ‘ParaOrchestra’ for young musicians with disability seeks members for first cohort

John Davis receives prestigious Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award

20 March 2026
John Davis has been named the recipient of the 2026 Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award, recognising his outstanding contributions to music in Australia....
  • Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
  • Prizes and Awards
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