Vice Regal Patron
Her Excellency the Honourable
Margaret Beazley AC KC
Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC is the 39th Governor of New South Wales, commencing her five year tenure on 2 May 2019.
Prior to her appointment as Governor, Her Excellency enjoyed a long and distinguished law career spanning 43 years, during which time she served as a role model for women in law at both the State and national level.
Appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1989, in 1993 she was made a judge of the Federal Court of Australia, the first woman to sit exclusively in that Court. In 1996, she achieved the distinction of being the first woman appointed to the New South Wales Court of Appeal and, subsequently, as the first woman to be appointed as its President. She served, on a number of occasions, as Administrator of the Government of the State of New South Wales.
She was made a Companion of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day Honours List on 26 January 2020 for “eminent service to the people of New South Wales, particularly through leadership roles in the judiciary, and as a mentor of young women lawyers”.
Her Excellency has three children – Erin, Lauren and Anthony Sullivan – and is married to Mr. Dennis Wilson, a barrister, mediator, accredited international arbitrator and Adjunct Professor of Law, at Notre Dame University, Sydney.
Her Excellency brings her deep commitment to education, youth leadership, human rights and social justice to the role in service of the people of New South Wales.
Honorary Patron
Professor The Honourable Dame Marie Bashir AD CVO
Professor The Honourable Dame Marie Bashir AD, CVO is the former and second longest-serving Governor of New South Wales. Born in Narrandera, New South Wales, Bashir graduated from the University of Sydney in 1956 and held various medical positions, with a particular emphasis in psychiatry.
In 1993 Bashir was appointed the Clinical Director of Mental Health Services for the Central Sydney Area Health Service, a position she held until appointed Governor on 1 March 2001. She has also served as the Chancellor of the University of Sydney (2007–2012).
Elena Kats-Chernin AO (Composer)
Elena Kats-Chernin is one of the most cosmopolitan composers working today, reaching millions of listeners worldwide through her prolific catalogue of works for theatre, ballet, orchestra, and chamber ensemble.
Her dramatically vivid music communicates a mixture of lightheartedness and heavy melancholy, combining strong rhythmic figures with elements of cabaret, tango, ragtime, and klezmer.
Richard Tognetti AO (Violinist)
Richard Tognetti is Artistic Director of the Australian Chamber Orchestra. He has established an international reputation for his compelling performances and artistic individualism.
Richard began his studies in his home town of Wollongong with William Primrose, then with Alice Waten at the Sydney Conservatorium, and Igor Ozim at the Bern Conservatory, where he was awarded the Tschumi Prize as the top graduate soloist in 1989.
Simon Tedeschi
(Pianist)
Simon Tedeschi is one of Australia’s most renowned classical pianists, winner of the Young Performer of the Year Award (Australia), the Creativity Foundation’s Legacy Award (USA), and the New York Young Jewish Pianist Award. Recipient of a Centenary of Federation Medal, and based in Boston, Massachusetts for several years, he performs for leading orchestras, festivals and and audiences young and old, from the Sydney Opera House to Carnegie Hall via Abu Dhabi and Shanghai.
Brett Weymark OAM
(Choral conductor)
Brett Weymark is one of the foremost choral conductors in Australia. Since becoming Artistic and Music Director of Sydney Philharmonia Choirs in 2003, he has conducted the Choirs in performances around the country and internationally.
He has also conducted the Sydney Symphony, West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Antipodes, Sydney Youth Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic and productions for WAAPA, Pacific Opera and OzOpera.
Roger Benedict
(Conductor)
Patron of Emerging Artists
Roger Benedict is a British/Australian conductor who works with leading professional orchestras in Australasia. In addition he is highly regarded as an orchestral trainer, working regularly with national youth orchestras in the UK and Australia and the emerging professional musicians of the Sydney Symphony Fellowship Program, of which he is Artistic Director.
Roger is Chief Conductor of the Sydney Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra and Artistic Director of Orchestra for Life.