My Story
Hi, I’m Victoria and thanks for being interested in my story.
I’ve been through the absolute highest times in life – full of triumphs, successes and mind-blowing achievements – whilst also battling with the very human challenges of self-doubt, lack of confident and intense levels of imposter syndrome.
I’m a proud Australian, with all the quirky Aussie background and charming (ahem!) broad accent, navigating my way through life in great, old Britain.
If you find parts of my story are reflected in your personal situation, then may you find inspiration for your own journey and a renewed energy. Whatever you are facing, you are not alone and everything is possible through determination and realignment of your own thoughts and mindsets.
The Early Years
I joined this world at 2am on 14th August 1984 in a regional town in the North of Australia. I’ve always been a night-owl, finding my most productive hours between 11pm and 4am, and have often wondered if my arrival in the wee hours was a predictor of things to come.
My early family life was quite satisfyingly average and non-eventful. I had all the essentials – two loving parents, an older sister who provoked me, a dog called Sandy, a childhood in a seaside town… and I took piano lessons.
Hindsight is a curious thing, and if I had known then that those piano lessons would play the central formational role in my life, my former self would scarcely have believed it. I grew into an exemplary pianist, completing a performance degree and simultaneously building a portfolio of professional work as a pianist, accompanist and teacher.
A life being paid to do the thing you love most in the world sounds like a dream, right? Yet no matter what I did, I found myself still feeling discontented and searching for more with my life than just music. I searched high and low for the thing that was make me happy. I got married, thinking that that was the piece of my life that was missing, and made a career move, adding a business degree to my portfolio.
I got to work building the two different career streams of my life. In one part, I was a hugely successful pianist, in demand for all sorts of work and performance opportunities, and in the other part I joined the management teams for some of Australia’s top professional music organisations (Orchestra Victoria, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra and Musica Viva).
And this satisfied me… for a time. Yet fairly soon I was feeling that itch again. Something was missing. At this point I threw down the gauntlet and took the plunge into leadership. I emerged from behind the keyboard and took my place at the helm of the ensemble, as a conductor. And I LOVED it! This was what I was meant to do, to lead, to be making decisions and to influence and inspire people on a whole new level. I had found my passion and my calling.
This continued for a couple of years until I realised that I had a terrible choice in front of me. The opportunities for advancement in Australia were (and still are) very limited, with a massive gap between the highest level of achievement and what came before. In short, there was no path for learning, development and career progression as a musician. In an environment where all the top positions were held by people who had previously studied and/or worked overseas, it was becoming clear that my path required me to leave my beloved homeland, my family and my friends, if I wanted to pursue my career as a conductor.
Journey to the UK
After a long process of weighing the options, I took the plunge and decided to apply for a masters degree in conducting at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Little did I know at the time that this decision would be one of the best decisions of my life.
I was accepted and in February 2012 I moved from sunny, warm Melbourne to cold, wet Cardiff to begin my new adventure. And, oh what an adventure it was!
The buffet of opportunity that was suddenly opened up to me blew my mind. Within four weeks of arriving, I was singing in my first ever performance of the Brahms Requiem – a most stunning piece of music, in German! Wow!
And since then, my journey has been forever developing, twisting and turning in ways I could never imagine, providing inspiration and satisfaction to a level that I never dreamed. I have built an important network of mentors and colleagues around me, all of whom provide endless support and inspiration in my work. I have performed across the globe in some of the world’s greatest concert halls and I have worked with hundreds of leaders, helping them to understand their own impact and potential.
Through everything though, the one key thing I’ve discovered about myself is that the mixture of artist and leader is the bedrock of my existence and the key to my success. I am a conductor. I am a leader. The two elements are as essential to each other as breath is to life, and I will forever identify with this in my very core.
If you have made it this far in reading about my story, I thank you for your interest. I hope that you will find inspiration in the content I share on my website.
I love to hear from people, so please feel free to get in touch if you’d like to make contact. I’ll endeavour to reply to any enquiries I receive.
Wish you all the very best and have courage in your own leadership journey, wherever it may take you.
Victoria
A versatile conductor with a fresh approach to music-making, Victoria is in demand across the UK and Europe. She has worked extensively with both professional and amateur ensembles, including Mid-Wales Opera, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Schleswig-Holstein Festival and Cumbria Rural Choirs, and appears frequently as guest conductor for other ensembles. In 2016 Victoria founded the international award-winning chamber choir, Evoke, of which she is artistic director and she is also music director for the Thames Valley Gay Chorus. Recognised for her ability to enthuse and engage musicians, Victoria is regularly invited as a workshop leader for festivals, recently appearing at AMJ Eurotreff (Germany), European Choral Association – Europa Cantat (Hungary), Cranleigh Choral Week and the Worcester International Festival for Young Singers.
Throughout her career Victoria has performed in some of the leading venues across the UK; the Royal Albert Hall in London, Bridgewater Hall in Manchester and St David’s Hall in Cardiff. She has extensive experience as an ensemble singer, performing with the likes of the North German Radio Symphony Orchestra (NDR), City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus, St Endellion Festivals and numerous recordings for disc and film.
Victoria teaches conducting both privately and with Voces Academy, an independent provider of high-level conductor training and choral development programmes. She is also a respected facilitator and leadership coach in executive education, working globally with some of the world’s leading organisations and frequently invited to join the executive education programmes at the Saïd Business School, Oxford University.
Victoria began her career in her native Australia where she obtained Bachelor’s degrees in Music (Piano Performance) and Business before relocating to the UK to undertake a MMus Choral Conducting at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD), from which she graduated with Distinction. Whilst at RWCMD Victoria studied under Neil Ferris, Simon Halsey CBE and Sarah Tenant-Flowers, and has also received tuition from a number of internationally respected conductors including Rodney Eichenberger (USA), Fred Sjöberg (Sweden), Jo-Michael Sheibe (USA), Peter Hanke (Denmark) and Karen Grylls (NZ).
In 2014 Victoria was awarded the Noël Minet Fund Scholarship from the European Choral Association and in 2015 she received an award from the Arts Foundation, an organisation dedicated to supporting future leaders in the Arts.
Testimonials
“Thank you. Your passion and energy was incredibly rewarding.”
Belinda Jones
– Ince & Co. LLP
“Thank you for reminding me just how much I love singing.”
Ros McQueen
– Gabalfa Community Choir
“I love your style and look forward to rehearsing every week.”
Liz Morris
– Milton Keynes Chorale
What Can I Do for You?
Proin gravida nibh vel velit auctor aliquet aenean sollicitudin, lorem quis bibendum auctor nisi elit consequat ipsum.
I’m a public speaker that has nec tellus a odio tincidunt auctor
Proin gravida nibh vel velit auctor aliquet. Aenean sollicitudin, lorem quis bibendum auctor, nisi elit consequat ipsum, nec sagittis sem nibh id elit. Duis sed odio sit amet nibh vulputate cursus a sit amet mauris. Morbi accumsan ipsum velit. Nam nec tellus a odio tincidunt auctor a ornare odio.
I’ve worked with tellus a odio tincidunt auctor a ornare odio
Gravida nibh vel velit auctor aliquet. Aenean sollicitudin, lorem quis bibendum auctor, nisi elit consequat ipsum, nec sagittis sem nibh id elit. Duis sed odio sit amet nibh vulputate cursus a sit amet mauris.
I can help you to nec tellus a odio tincidunt auctor a ornare odio
Proin gravida nibh vel velit auctor aliquet. Aenean sollicitudin, lorem quis bibendum auctor, nisi elit consequat ipsum, nec sagittis sem nibh id elit. Duis sed odio sit amet nibh vulputate cursus a sit amet mauris. Morbi accumsan ipsum velit. Nam nec tellus a odio tincidunt auctor a ornare odio.
Need Advice?
Lorem ipsum dolor sit, consectetur incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco.