Tom Woods

Tom Woods was born to Australian parents in Tanzania in 1969. He grew up in Perth, West Australia studying cello and piano.

He studied conducting at the West Australian Conservatorium under Richard Gill and in Moscow at the Gnessin Institute under Vladimir Ponkin. From his debut in 1993 he conducted in every season at Opera Australia for over twenty years in a wide range of repertoire including the world premiere of John Haddock’s Madeline Lee and the Australian premiere of Andre Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire. He received a Green Room Award for Best Musical Direction of Carlisle Floyd’s “Of Mice and Men”. He was Chief Conductor of the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra 2008 – 2014, Director of Artistic Planning of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra 2006 – 2010 and Artistic Director of the Sydney Youth Orchestra 1999 – 2004. In these positions he developed a reputation for innovative concert planning and orchestra building. In 2023 he was invited by Orchestra Victoria to act as Artistic Advisor where he programmed all concerts and invited soloists and conductors.

Since 2014 he has been based in Regensburg, Germany where he has conducted a large repertoire of operas and concerts including the world premiere of Ella Milch-Sherrif‘s The Banality of Love and Stefan Heucke’s Michael Kohlhaas.