Now in its third year, the Australian Youth Orchestra’s Music in Me Summit is beginning to look less like an experiment and more like a movement.

What began in 2023 as a professional development day for primary music educators has now grown into one of the country’s most distinctive gatherings for classroom teachers, specialist music educators and musicians.

For Music in Me’s director Bernie Heard, the success of the summit’s second year confirmed the project was striking a chord across the sector.

“We had a pretty even mix of music specialists and generalist primary school teachers coming along, which really shows us that I think we’re getting it right in terms of who our audience is,” Heard says. “We’re trying to cater for both.”

And the summit itself?

“It was brilliant,” she says. “It was an incredibly joyful day. And the venue [ACO on the Pier, overlooking Sydney’s Walsh Bay] is such a lovely place to hold it. Many of our music teachers don’t get a chance to to go somewhere swanky and feel a little bit special. I think it really honours the important work they do.”

The Music in Me Summit. Photo supplied

While Heard jokes that the summit is “still a baby”, she says the event has quickly developed a sense of ownership among participants, presenters and partner organisations. Importantly, it is also better catering to its audience – a mix of specialist music teachers and generalist primary school educators teaching music to primary school-aged children. That mix, Heard says is central to the summit’s mission.

For many attendees, especially those from regional and remote schools across new South Wales, the Music in Me summit is also a rare opportunity to connect with peers. Music teachers – particularly in primary settings – often work in relative isolation, sometimes as the sole arts specialist in a school or even an entire district.

“They’re often quite isolated, professionally speaking” Heard says. “They’re the ones who are the first ones to school and the last ones to leave, and they spend their lunch breaks in rehearsals as well.”

For the many in that situation, the summit offers both professional learning and professional affirmation, Heard says. 

“It gives them an opportunity to make great connections and make friends with other teachers as well. We often forget that they are all artists, too.”

The Music in Me Summit. Photo supplied

This year’s program – titled Many Voices. One Classroom – places particular emphasis on diversity, inclusion and culturally responsive teaching practices – an area Heard says many educators are eager to embrace but sometimes uncertain how to approach.

“We wanted to make a considered effort to provide some real support for teachers in how to meaningfully introduce music from culturally diverse artists, and particularly First Nations artists, into their classrooms,” he says.

According to Heard, teachers frequently express concern about “getting it wrong” when engaging with cultural material outside their own experience.

“There’s definitely a willingness and a real keenness,” he says. “Teachers want to include music which reflects the cultures that are in their classrooms and in modern Australia. But they’re time-poor, and they really want to do it well.”

To address that uncertainty, the summit has assembled a broad range of artists and educators working across culturally diverse and First Nations practices. Among them are Kamilaroi composer Adam Manning, Warrimay artist Nicole Smede and Wiradjuri vocalist Olivia Coe Fox, who will leads a powerful closing session celebrating language, identity and shared musical experience.

International and cross-cultural perspectives are further explored through immersive sessions with Suara
Indonesia Dance, alongside practical classroom approaches spanning storytelling, composition, instrumental
learning, inclusive practice for neurodiverse learners, and the integration of music with literacy and numeracy outcomes.

There will also be a panel discussion examining culturally meaningful engagement in classrooms.

The topic has gained additional urgency with the implementation of the new New South Wales K–6 Creative Arts syllabus, which encourages broader engagement with First Nations and culturally diverse artistic practices.

“We’re really keen to support teachers in this way,” Heard says.

The conversation around diversity can play a particularly important role in fostering cultural understanding in regional communities, Heard adds. 

“When you look at regional communities with high Indigenous populations, for example, music is the way to create those connections,” he says. “It’s the first step in developing cultural cohesion and empathy.”

Rather than viewing cultural music practices simply as classroom resources, this year’s summit will encourage educators – and, more importantly, give them the tools and confidence – to develop genuine relationships with communities beyond of the school fence.

The Music in Me Summit. Photo supplied

The summit’s headline guest this year is internationally acclaimed Australian conductor Simone Young, whose appearance reflects the summit’s continuing relationship with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

Young will appear in conversation with broadcaster Genevieve Lang in a fireside-style discussion exploring mentorship, teaching and the educators who shaped her own career.

“She will speak about the teachers and mentors who were meaningful in her life,” Heard says. “Teachers who recognised her potential and supported her.”

The conversation, Heard hopes, will remind attendees of the profound influence teachers can have on young people. “They may have the next Simone Young in their classroom,” she says. “You never know.”

In recognition of the challenges faced by regional educators, the summit is also offering discounted ticket pricing for teachers travelling from regional areas. It is a small but telling gesture – one that aligns with the broader ethos underpinning the event itself: that music education deserves investment, celebration and serious attention.

There is a reduced ticket price ($150) for teachers travelling from schools in outer regional or remote areas, or have an ICSEA rating below 1000. Full price tickets are $225, students $40, and all tickets include catered lunch and breaks.

At a time when arts programs in schools continue to compete for funding, curriculum space and institutional support, the Music in Me Summit has positioned itself as something more than a conference. It is becoming a gathering point for a community determined to keep music central to children’s lives – and to remind teachers that their work matters.

Full program details and further information about the range of workshops can be found at Music in Me – Music in Me Summit 2026.