Carolyn Watson's illustrious musical career spans far beyond her work in the United States and Australia, with notable achievements also in Europe, where she claimed multiple prizes in the 2012 Emmerich Kálmán International Operetta Conducting Competition in Budapest. Additional engagements included memorable performances at the Staatsoper Berlin during the Infektion! Festival, leading musicians from the Berlin Philharmonic in Interaktion, a residency at the Israeli National Opera, and assisting Sir Charles Mackerras in his final productions at The Royal Opera, Covent Garden, and Glyndebourne. Watson's international credentials are impressive, having worked with respected ensembles such as the Brandenburger Symphoniker, BBC Concert Orchestra, Budapest Operetta Theatre, Bulgarian State Opera Burgas, Duna Szimfonikus Budapest, North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Kammerphilharmonie Graz, Kodály Philharmonia Debrecen, Mihail Jora Philharmonic Romania, Savaria Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and the St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic in Russia. In her native Australia, associations include the Darwin Symphony, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, Melbourne Youth Orchestra, Monash Academy Orchestra, Sydney Symphony, Tasmania Discovery Orchestra, and the Willoughby Symphony. She also performed for Pope Benedict XVI on his arrival in Sydney for World Youth Day in 2008 for a live audience of 100,000 and an international television audience of five million. North American credits include Amarillo Opera, Austin Symphony, Dallas Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Detroit Symphony, Kansas City Ballet, Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, South Bend Symphony, St. Joseph Symphony Orchestra, Traverse City Symphony, and World Youth Symphony Orchestra. She is also Music Director of Indiana's La Porte County Symphony Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra. Watson continues to enjoy an active freelance career that stretches across the United States, Europe, and Australia. Beyond her successful work with professional organizations, she is deeply committed to music education. She is the Director of Orchestras at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She was a Fellow of the American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival, where she trained under David Zinman. Her skills were further honed in master classes with renowned Orchestral Conductors such as Marin Alsop, Peter Eötvös, Yoel Levi, Martyn Brabbins, and Alex Polishchuk. Complementing her artistic endeavors is Watson's profile as a scholar. She holds a Ph.D. in Performance (Conducting) from the University of Sydney, where her doctoral thesis focused on Gesture as Communication: The Art of Carlos Kleiber. To learn more about her journey and upcoming projects, visit her website at www.carolyn-watson.com.