I feel very privileged, and very excited, to be selected for the Forge Conducting course! Co-created by Tori Longdon (my past conducting mentors & friends) and Greg Beardsell, I have just commenced a 30-week long training course tailored to choral conductors. I am already loving the content so far, and learning plenty! You can read more about Forge here.
My Forge Announcement
I will be mentored by the illustrious Mariana Rosas, who currently directs the London Symphony Chorus. I am so excited to soak up new knowledge, make new friends all around the world, and take my new learnings into my work!
I’ve recently been reflecting on, and writing about, my time abroad this year, to not forget the deeply valuable lessons I learnt and have a record of the exciting choral ventures I was able to arrange. This writing has formed into an article, which I’ve been working on publishing to share my experiences and inspire others! The first publication to feature my writing was ‘Sing Out’, a magazine published by the Australian National Choral Association (ANCA). I’m the current Editor of the magazine, and I felt our readers would find my travels and stories intriguing!
The front cover of ANCA’s most recent Issue of ‘Sing Out’
My article was also shared on Chorally – an online platform for choral musicians to connect and create. You can read the article here. Thank you to one of my conducting mentors, Amy Bebbington, for encouraging me to keep writing and promoting the article!
A few weekends ago, I had the pleasure of being part of the Queensland Catholic Schools & Colleges Music Festival, or QCMF. This large event is an exciting chance for a number of secondary institutions to come together and perform, and receive extensive feedback to take back to the rehearsal space and build upon.
In my role as choral director at Ambrose Treacy College, I was conducting my two ensembles in two sections – one for choirs (larger groups) and the other for vocal ensembles (smaller, auditioned groups). I was super proud of their efforts across Festival, achieving both a Silver and Gold Award! We received constructive feedback from the adjudicators, which I’m excited to bring back to rehearsals and deconstruct.
Results for my two ATC choral ensembles!
I was privileged to be invited to adjudicate a number of sections across the Festival, from Prep to Grade 4 choirs to secondary school groups. It was such a pleasure to see so many conductors selecting appropriate and engaging repertoire, and facilitating opportunities for young people to be experiencing choral music!
Views from the adjudicator table in St James’ Hall for QCMF
Thank you to Mt Maria College, Mitchelton, for selecting a piece for which I contributed lyrics – ‘Fields of Allonville‘, with music by Joe Twist! What a pleasant surprise!
The SATB version of ‘Fields of Allonville’ was performed at QCMF
I wouldn’t always describe sitting in a Zoom meeting as my favourite way to start the weekend, but I recently sat in an inspiring, stimulating, collaborative, practical session presented by Ingrid Martin.
Ingrid’s T&C’s for those stepping into a professional conducting career
Although I’ve been working as a conductor for just under 10 years, this has been principally in the choral world. This session was Ingrid examined and demystified the orchestral and instrumental industry with clear detail and insightful anecdotes. I am looking to expand my skills and experience within instrumental fields, and Ingrid made the pathway feel achievable for me.
Not only was there information, but actionable steps we could all try!
I’m keen to put into practice some of the actions Ingrid urged us to try, and keep removing the ‘buts’ that come after my name! You can read more about Ingrid and her incredible career here.
Last Term ended with so much success and choral awesomeness for two of my ensembles, the ‘Chorale’ at Kenmore SHS and ‘Senior Choir’ at Centenary SHS, in the Education QLD Choral Fanfare competition.
Both were selected in their respective regional heats after receiving Platinum awards to progress to regional finals – also making me the only conductor in the state to have choirs selected at this level in more than one region.
Even though neither were selected to move to the State Finals, all my singers were over to achieve these results and represent their schools with pride. I’m so proud of them all!
Here is the repertoire I selected for my 2025 Fanfare sets!
Kenmore SHS Chorale (SATB) – Platinum Award & Regional Finalist, Metro North
Towards Infinity (Lyrics by Phil Voysey, Music by Paul Jarman), in a new arrangement commissioned by myself, completed in 2024
I’m a firm believer in life-long professional skill development for artists, and regularly participate in workshops, conferences, summer schools and mentoring schemes aimed at vocal teachers and choral conductors.
Recently I was able to spend some time receiving feedback from Dr Christopher Kiver during his time in Brisbane. Dr Kiver is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Pennsylvania State University, and provided me and the other workshop attendees valuable and insightful guidance relating to expression, gesture, and technique.
Thank you Dr Chris!
I have some more professional development already locked in later this year and in January 2026, which I can’t wait to attend!
Nice to meet you! I’m Josh, a conductor and music educator in Brisbane/Meanjin, Australia. I can’t wait to share more as I keep building this site! You can expect to hear about what I’m up to, what my choirs & students are achieving, insights into life as a freelancer, and some tips and advice along the way!
Joshua Clifford 