Carolyn Narelle Watson is an Australian conductor.

Education

Carolyn Watson attended

Figtree High School , motto_translation = To Grow. To have faith. To stand firm , established = , type = Government-funded co-educational comprehensive secondary day school , educational_authority = New South Wales D ...

and studied at the

Wollongong Conservatorium of Music Wollongong Conservatorium of Music is a centre for music education, community music-making and performance, serving the city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently on the Register of Cultural Organisations (ROCO), as listed ...

before pursuing an undergraduate degree at the

Sydney Conservatorium of Music The Sydney Conservatorium of Music (formerly the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music and known by the moniker "The Con") is a heritage-listed music school in Macquarie Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the ol ...

. From there, she furthered her studies at the Kodály Institute in Kecskemét, Hungary, from which she graduated with an Advanced Diploma. Subsequently, she pursued graduate conducting studies with

David Zinman David Zinman (born July 9, 1936, in Brooklyn, NY) is an American conductor and violinist. Education After violin studies at Oberlin Conservatory, Zinman studied theory and composition at the University of Minnesota, earning his M.A. in 1963. He ...

at the American Academy of Conducting in Aspen and at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music under

Imre Palló Imre Palló (born Mátisfalva, Transylvania, 23 October 1891, died Budapest, 25 January 1978) was a Hungarian baritone, and later opera house manager.Várnai PP. Imre Palló. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London & New York, ...

. She has also participated in master classes with

Marin Alsop Marin Alsop ( �mɛər.ɪn ˈæːl.sɑːp born October 16, 1956) is an American conductor, the first woman to win the Koussevitzky Prize for conducting and the first conductor to be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. She is music director laureate o ...

Peter Eötvös Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

Yoel Levi Yoel Levi (Hebrew: יואל לוי) (born 16 August 1950) is an Israeli musician and conductor. Early life Born in Romania, Levi grew up in Israel. He studied at the Tel Aviv Academy of Music, receiving a Master of Arts degree with distinction. ...

Martyn Brabbins Martyn Charles Brabbins (born 13 August 1959) is a British conductor. The fourth of five children in his family, he learned to play the euphonium, and then the trombone during his youth at Towcester Studio Brass Band. He later studied compositio ...

and Alex Polishchuk.

Career

Carolyn Watson was a prizewinner at the 2012 Emmerich Kálmán International Operetta Conducting Competition in Budapest, Hungary where she placed Third and received the Herend Porcelain Manufacturer's Special Prize and the Special Prize of the Kodály Philharmonia. In 2013, Watson won the Brian Stacey Award for Emerging Australian conductors as part of the

13th Helpmann Awards The 13th Annual Helpmann Awards were held on 29 July 2013 at the Sydney Opera House, in Sydney. Administered by Live Performance Australia (LPA), accolades were handed out in 41 categories for achievements in theatre, musicals, opera, ballet, d ...

and was awarded a Dome Centenary Fellowship from the State Library of Victoria. She was the recipient of a

Churchill Fellowship Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts (WCMT) are three independent but related living memorials to Sir Winston Churchill, based in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. They exist for the purpose of administering Churchill Fellowships, ...

(2012), the Sir Charles Mackerras Conducting Prize from the

Australian Music Foundation The Australian Music Foundation MFis a charitable foundation, first established in the United Kingdom, with the chief purpose of providing financial support to outstanding young Australian musicians who wish to pursue post-graduate music courses in ...

in London (2008) and the Nelly Apt Conducting Scholarship (2008). Watson was also the recipient of Opera Foundation Australia's New Berlin Music Opera Award in 2012 and the Bayreuth Opera Award in 2009. Also in 2013, Watson moved to the United States when she was appointed Music Director of the Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra at

Interlochen Center for the Arts Interlochen Center for the Arts is a non-profit corporation which operates arts education institutions and performance venues in northwest Michigan. It is situated on a campus in Interlochen, Michigan, roughly southwest of Traverse City. I ...

with whom she was awarded the 2015 American Prize in Orchestral Performance. Watson is currently Music Director of th
La Porte County Symphony
in Indiana and Principal Guest Conductor of the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra. Since moving to the US she has conducted the Amarillo Opera, Austin Symphony, Catskill Symphony, Dallas Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Kansas City Ballet, Detroit Symphony Civic Orchestra, St. Joseph Symphony, and the World Youth Symphony Orchestra. Future engagements see debuts with the Cape Symphony, Traverse Symphony Orchestra and Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, as well as return engagements with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and Kansas City Ballet. Notable European credits include Infektion!, a festival of modern theatre celebrating the works of John Cage at the Staatsoper Berlin, conducting musicians of the Berlin Philharmonic in Interaktion, a residency at the Israeli National Opera, and assisting Sir Charles Mackerras on his final two productions at The Royal Opera, Covent Garden and Glyndebourne. Additional international conducting credits include the Brandenburger Symphoniker, BBC Concert Orchestra, Budapest Operetta Theatre, Bulgarian State Opera Bourgas, Duna Szimfonikus Budapest, North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Kammerphilharmonie Graz, Kodály Philharmonia Debrecen, Mihail Jora Philharmonic Romania, Savaria Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and in Russia, the St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic. In Australia she has worked with the Conservatorium High School, Darwin Symphony, Monash Academy Orchestra, Melbourne Youth Orchestra, SBS Youth Orchestra, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, Sydney Symphony, Sydney Youth Orchestra, Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music, Tasmania Discovery Orchestra and Willoughby Symphony Orchestra. Watson was recognized in 2021 by the Australian government as a leading global Australian and finalist in the Arts Category of th
Advance Awards
and in 2022 she was appointed as Director of Orchestras at the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Uni ...

. Watson holds a PhD in Conducting from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one o ...

, where the subject of her doctoral dissertation was titled ''Gesture as Communication: The Art of

Carlos Kleiber Carlos Luis Bonifacio Kleiber (3 July 1930 – 13 July 2004) was an Austrian conductor who is widely regarded as among the greatest conductors of all time. Early life Kleiber was born as Karl Ludwig Bonifacius Kleiber in Berlin in 1930, the ...

.''

References

External links

Website for Carolyn Watson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Carolyn Australian conductors (music) Australian women conductors (music) Sydney Conservatorium of Music alumni Living people University of Sydney alumni 21st-century conductors (music) Year of birth missing (living people)