Leonard Weiss
Australian conductor Leonard Weiss CF is one of the most compelling musicians emerging on the international stage. As the current Cybec Assistant Conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Leonard recently made his acclaimed debut at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, and continues to lead a range of innovative MSO programs and national broadcasts.
In 2026, Leonard will celebrate several career milestones, including his debut at Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Munich Biennale, and his mainstage debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in a program shared with Music Director Andris Nelsons. He will also spend five months as Assistant Conductor at Deutsche Oper Berlin, as the recipient of the Berlin Music Opera Award from The Opera Foundation for Young Australians.
In 2025, Leonard joins the Tanglewood Music Center as a Conducting Fellow under the mentorship of Andris Nelsons. While at Tanglewood, he will lead an extensive variety of orchestral and chamber performances, as well as participating in numerous masterclasses and workshops. In June, Leonard won First Prize in the Khachaturian International Competition and received the Special Prize for Best Interpretation of Khachaturian’s Symphony No. 2, earning him an immediate re-invitation to conduct the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra during their 2026-27 season. He has also been invited to participate in the prestigious Concours de Genève and the Toscanini Competition later this year.
Prior to joining the MSO, Leonard was the 2022 New Zealand Assistant Conductor in Residence, working closely with the Auckland Philharmonia. A former student of Marin Alsop at the Peabody Conservatory, where he was named a “Rising Star” and awarded the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra-Peabody Fellowship, Leonard 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, and the US.
Among his accolades, 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.
“A masterful performance under the direction of Leonard Weiss… nuanced, expressive and subtle, there is no mistaking what he asks of the orchestra.”
CityNews, 25 July 2021
