Australian conductor Leonard Weiss CF has quickly established himself as one of the most versatile and dynamic conductors of his generation, recognised 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.

In Australasia, Leonard is excited to debut with the Adelaide and Queensland Symphony Orchestras, 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. That same year, he won the Khachaturian International Competition and also received the Special Prize for Best Interpretation of Khachaturian’s Symphony No. 2, earning an immediate reinvitation in the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra’s 2026–27 season. Three months later, Leonard won Third Prize at the Toscanini Competition and received an invitation to the prestigious Concours de Genève.

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 and was awarded the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Peabody Fellowship. He has also trained with Riccardo Muti, Gianandrea Noseda, and the Australian Conducting Academy.

A passionate advocate for living composers, Leonard has premiered new works across Australia, New Zealand, and the USA. 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.