The Advisory Council will provide strategic insight and expert guidance to strengthen music education across the state. Comprising leading educators, practitioners, and advocates, the Council will help shape policy, drive innovation, and support MTANSW’s mission to uphold the highest standards in music teaching.
As we enter this critical phase for arts education, the Advisory Council will ensure MTANSW remains at the forefront of advocating for quality, access, and excellence in music education across all settings.
Click here to read the Advisory Council Charter
Professor Anna Reid
B.Mus (Perf) USyd M.Ed.Admin UNE PhD UTS
Head of School and Dean
An alumna of the Sydney Conservatorium, Professor Anna Reid joined the Con in 2010 as Head of School and Associate Dean (teaching and learning). Her practical and research interests in social equity and professional preparation have led to the creation of internship programs and ‘buddy’ relationships with regional conservatoria, freeing up the music curriculum to deliver greater student choice, enhancing student engagement with musical studies, and fostering equity programs for the University’s music faculty. Read more...
Caron Chan
Caron Chan is the former Chief Strings Examiner for the Australian Music Examinations Board (NSW) and has taught in tertiary and pre-tertiary programs at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. She is in demand as a teacher, adjudicator and presenter on violin pedagogy throughout Australasia. Her students have been prizewinners in International and National competitions including the Leonid Kogan Competition, Kendall National Violin Competition and the Kuring-gai Concerto Competition. Caron performs with the Opera Australia Orchestra and has been a guest musician with Orchestra Victoria and the Tasmanian, New Zealand and Sydney Symphony Orchestras. Caron currently teaches the violin and chamber music at the Conservatorium High School and from her private studio.
Dr Harold Gretton
Bio
Jacinta Adamson
Jacinta Adamson has been working on the Amadeus Music Education Program since its inception in 2019, when she was invited to contribute to the project proposal. She has led the planning and implementation of the program from its first note in 2021 as a pilot in Sydney's Southwest, to a large-scale offering for more than 35,000 students in 2025. Prior to the Amadeus program, she was the Leader of Learning: CAPA and Director of the On the Block Band Program at St Vincent’s College, Ashfield. Jacinta is a passionate advocate for music education and music ministry as key tools for students’ musical and faith formation.
Karen Carey OAM
Bio
Michelle Leonard OAM
Bio
Ass. Professor Paul Evans
Paul Evans, PhD is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology in the School of Education at UNSW Sydney. His research on musicians’ motivation, practice, and performance spans all stages—from children beginning to learn an instrument, to young adults pursuing careers in music performance. His research with schools, universities, and music programs is published in a range of internationally renowned journals and edited volumes. Paul supervises a team of research students and convenes the Cognitive Load and Motivation Lab at UNSW, which applies learnings from music to other domains of study in school classrooms and beyond. He also teaches educational psychology in undergraduate, postgraduate, and research degree programs. Read more...
Steve Williams
Stephen Williams has established himself as one of Australia’s most versatile conductors, distinguishing himself with an impressive record of achievement in a variety of musical settings. In addition to conducting many of the symphony orchestras for Symphony Services International he has conducted, recorded and toured with many of Australia’s finest symphonic bands and jazz ensembles. He has directed and performed with Australian groups at the North Sea, Montreux, Edinburgh and Monterey Jazz Festivals, has conducted concerts in Carnegie Hall and taken Australian orchestras, symphonic bands and jazz ensembles to conferences and festivals in the U.S.A, Japan, Europe, the U.K, Singapore and China. Read more...
Tony Lee
Bio