Leonard Weiss
Conductor
About Leonard
Australian conductor Leonard Weiss CF has quickly established himself as one of the most versatile and compelling conductors of his generation, acclaimed for electrifying performances of symphonic repertoire, opera and contemporary music.
Leonard will mark several international milestones in the 2026 season, with debuts at Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Munich Biennale, the Boston Symphony Orchestra in a mainstage program shared with Music Director Andris Nelsons, and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra’s Mendelssohn Academy. As a semi-finalist in the prestigious Concours de Genève, in November he will conduct the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestre de Chambre de Genève, and Ensemble Contrechamps.
In Australasia, Leonard is excited to debut with the Adelaide and Queensland Symphony Orchestras and Orchestra Victoria, and return to the Melbourne and Christchurch Symphony Orchestras. Having received the 2025 Berlin Music Opera Award from The Opera Foundation for Young Australians, Leonard will work as Assistant Conductor at Deutsche Oper Berlin during their 25-26 season.
As a 2025 Tanglewood Music Center Conducting Fellow, Leonard conducted over a dozen concerts under the mentorship of Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Just one week prior, he received First Prize at the Khachaturian International Competition, along with the Special Prize for Best Interpretation of Khachaturian’s Symphony No. 2, earning an immediate reinvitation from the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra in their 2026–27 season. Three months later, Leonard won Third Prize at the Toscanini Competition.
During the 2024 and 2025 seasons, Leonard was the Cybec Assistant Conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, where he led national broadcasts on ABC Classic radio and acclaimed debuts at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl and Hamer Hall. Leonard was the 2022 New Zealand Assistant Conductor in Residence with the Auckland Philharmonia, where he continues to return as a guest conductor.
Leonard studied with Marin Alsop at the Peabody Conservatory, where he was named their “Rising Star” and was awarded the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Peabody Fellowship. He has also trained with Riccardo Muti and Gianandrea Noseda, as well as at the Salzburg Festival and Australian Conducting Academy. A passionate advocate for living composers, Leonard has premiered new works across Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the USA. Among his distinctions, Leonard received the 2020 Mr and Mrs Gerald Frank New Churchill Fellowship, was a finalist for the 2016 Young Australian of the Year, and was named Young Canberra Citizen of the Year for Youth Arts and Multimedia.