Chief Conductor & Artistic Director

Listed by Limelight magazine one of the top 50 power players in their SMART ARTS 2010, Sarah-Grace Williams has gained a reputation as one of Australia's foremost conductors of her generation.

She is the Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra and Strathfield Symphony Orchestra, Musical Director and Conductor of the Sydney Opera House Proms Orchestra and Associate Conductor of The Occasional Performing Sinfonia (TOPS). Additionally, Sarah-Grace has been engaged as a Guest Conductor and Presenter with a number of ensembles including the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Willoughby Symphony Orchestra, Penrith Symphony Orchestra and Ku-ring-gai Philharmonic Orchestra.

Sarah-Grace is currently the Assistant Conductor for Symphony Australia, assisting the Queensland, Adelaide, West Australian and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras.

An accomplished clarinettist and pianist, Sarah-Grace received her Bachelor of Music Degree with Distinction, majoring in performance and composition. She went on to achieve First Class Honours in Conducting before continuing conducting studies in Russia and Holland with Alexander Polishchuk and Jorma Panula respectively. A principal graduate from Symphony Australia's prestigious Conductor Program and the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra's Conductors Program, Sarah-Grace has conducted most of Australia's and New Zealand's premier orchestras under the tutelage of esteemed conductors Johannes Fritzsch, Janos Furst, Sebastian Lang-Lessing, Christopher Seaman, David Porcelijn, Lutz Koehler and Marco Zuccarini. As a result, Sarah-Grace has received invitations to conduct a number of concert seasons and was delighted to secure an ongoing mentorship with Maestro Fritzsch whom she has been working with since the beginning of 2008.

Sarah-Grace lectures in Conducting, Aural, Music Theatre and Choral Studies at both the Australian International Conservatorium of Music and the Australian Institute of Music and is a highly sought after vocal coach and adjudicator. She continues to work as a freelance clarinettist, pianist and radio presenter and has been awarded numerous prizes including the Symphony Australia Podium Scholarship, University of Western Sydney Prize for Academic Excellence, the Sound Devices Prize for excellence in Performance and the GF Scholarship for excellence in Performance. Sarah-Grace has composed, arranged and recorded music for films, theatre productions, symphonic ensembles and chamber groups.

For more information visit www.sarahgracewilliams.com