Skip to main content

The Central Coast Conservatorium team

  • Tristan Sharp

    Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

  • Patrick Brennan

    Artistic Director, Premier Ensembles Conductor & Bassoon Teacher

  • Carl Schmidt

    Curriculum Co-ordinator

  • Dr. Phillip Rutherford

    Primary Wind Ensemble Conductor

  • Kevin Smith

    Junior Wind Ensemble Conductor

  • E-Yang Liu

    Senior Wind Ensemble Conductor

  • Vicki Harris

    Schools Program Administrator

  • Nicky Castle

    Events Manager, Program Coordinator

  • Sharon Ferguson

    Accounts Payable, Receivable & Payroll Officer

  • Kathleen Novosel

    Administration

Tristan Sharp

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

For over 25 years Tristan has worked extensively in senior leadership roles across the government, non-profit and corporate sectors, with his experience spanning strategy and organisational transformation, education and public programs, visitor experience and services, commercial operations, infrastructure development and asset management.

Having started his career as a classroom teacher, Tristan has since held a range of roles encompassing leading audience engagement, education and programs and events teams for national cultural institutions, with a particular interest in disadvantaged audiences and access to arts experience and education.

Tristan has delivered results by unlocking financial and human capital, developing and delivering collaborative, innovative and holistic strategy, while cultivating positive and productive long-term partnerships, that put people at the centre of the organisation’s mission.

His interests in the Conservatorium are both professional and personal. Having grown up on the Central Coast in the 1980s, he was compelled to leave at a young age to pursue further education and his career in the arts. Now having returned, his daughter, a student at the Conservatorium for the last five years, has achieved Flute AMEB Grade 6, is playing in the Symphonic Woodwind Orchestra, and attending both the weekly Senior Jazz Ensemble and private flute tuition. This connection and the ability to contribute to high quality arts education opportunities for, especially young people locally, drives his commitment to advancing the Conservatorium’s mission of nurturing musical talent, that also enriches our wider community.

Tristan’s previous leadership roles include the Australian Classification Board, Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (MAAS), the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Newcastle Region Art Gallery, Campbelltown Regional Art Gallery, Westpac Bank and AMP Capital.

In these roles he successfully managed lead large multi-faceted audience and education programs, digital initiatives, First Nations, multi-cultural and Disability access strategies, as well as leading organisational change and operations, visitor experience and community development programs. He has a strong track record in creating value, overcoming complex challenges and driving outcomes for key stakeholders, clients and audiences.

Tristan is currently a Board Member of the Art Gallery of NSW Society, previously a member of Create NSW History and Museums Funding Board, and his qualifications include a Master of Arts Administration, College of Fine Arts, University of NSW, Diploma of Education (Visual Arts), University of Newcastle and a Bachelor of Arts (Fine Arts / Film / Psychology), University of Sydney and University of California.

Patrick Brennan

Artistic Director, Premier Ensembles Conductor & Bassoon Teacher

Patrick Brennan attained his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and as a professional bassoonist performed with Australia’s leading orchestras for 15 years before pursuing a career as a conductor.

He participated in the Symphony Australia Conductor Development Program whilst directing several school and community bands and symphonic wind ensembles. In 2020 Patrick won a coveted position in the Australian Conducting Academy, working with the Tasmania Symphony Orchestra

Patrick has created and developed several cornerstone organisations including the Northern Sydney Schools Wind Orchestra, Central Coast Opera, Regional Youth Orchestra NSW and the NSSWE program that now offers weekly professional development for tertiary music students, focusing on best practice in pedagogy and conducting.

Patrick teaches bassoon at Central Coast Conservatorium of Music. As a music educator Patrick has worked within the Department of Education Arts Unit, in government and non-government schools as well as in tertiary institutions, including the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the Newcastle Conservatorium of Music.

He was also appointed as the NSW representative of the Bassoon syllabus for the AMEB.

As a member of the Curriculum Development Committee for the ANSWRC Patrick is currently developing a state-wide curriculum for music students across regional NSW

As Artistic Director of the Central Coast Conservatorium, Patrick musically directs the major premier music ensembles on the NSW Central Coast including Central Coast Youth Orchestra, Central Coast Philharmonia Choir and Central Coast Concert Band.

Carl Schmidt

Curriculum Co-ordinator

Acclaimed pianist and Head of the Central Coast Conservatorium’s Piano Department, Carl Schmidt, has performed all around the world – from European palaces to the iconic Sydney Opera House. Concerts have ranged from intimate recitals for diplomats to grand choral masterpieces with full orchestra. In addition to his classical background, Carl enjoys listening to, and playing, music from many different genres.

“Much like appetite changes, so does my musical mood. I have a very eclectic taste in music and on my commute up and down the freeway I can be listening to anything from Rachmaninoff concertos to Elton John,” says Carl. In fact, it wasn’t until he was eight that Carl, who was born and raised on the NSW Central Coast, took to the piano after finding his mother’s old records of the Chopin Etudes. “My mum played the piano a bit, but both parents were not really musicians. My great grandmother however, apparently played piano for the old silent movies back in England,” he says.

It was always Carl’s childhood dream to study and perform in Europe, and after graduating with 1st class honours from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music he went on to complete a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of The Netherlands. He has also regularly appeared as soloist and member of various ensembles around the world and is an accomplished accompanist, chamber musician, and a senior piano examiner for the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB).

It was while living in the Netherlands that Carl was invited to give a recital for foreign diplomats and members of the international courts on a brand new Steinway housed in the grand ballroom of a historic palace in the Hague. Carl said it was that moment, plus being part of a performance of Carmina Burana at Sydney Opera House, was one of the highlights of his career. “Being on stage in the middle of such a huge orchestra and choir in such an iconic venue was definitely a memorable experience for me.”

With over 25 years’ of teaching and performing experience, including adjudicating at all levels from local scholarships through to international competitions, Carl says his main goal as the Head of Program and teacher at the Central Coast Conservatorium, is to “help students of all ages and abilities discover the amazing world of music to further enrich and expand their own world, as it has my own”.

“My affiliation with the Conservatorium goes back to the ‘80s and I am excited by what the future holds for the organisation. I look forward to being part of an organisation that provides the highest level of musical tuition and whose name is synonymous with musical excellence on the Central Coast. The gift of music is one that we have a duty to share, and it is a gift that has the ability to shape lives.”

When he’s not playing, practising, listening to, examining, or teaching music, Carl – a father to three energetic boys – enjoys learning new skills, from creating websites and designing apps to building a swimming pools and doing stand-up paddleboarding.  “Whatever challenge I take on I like to do it with 100 per cent focus and commitment.”

Carl holds a 1st Class Bachelor of Music from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and a Masters of Music degree in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of The Netherlands. While living in Europe Carl was invited to perform in the 2004 International Chopin Festival in The Hague and with Steve Reich during the 2003 Steve Reich Festival. He has recorded the complete Chopin Preludes and the Brahms Fantasien Opus 116 and has been soloist with the Central Coast Symphony Orchestra, Balmain Sinfonia and Sydney Youth Orchestra. He was a recitalist for the Sydney Conservatorium’s Virtuoso Piano Series and a lecturer and performer at the 2008 Summer Piano Teachers’ Festival.Carl is an experienced examiner and adjudicator and was a jury member for the 2016 Australia Chinese Arts Study & Exchange Association International Music Festival Piano Competition. He continues to give workshops, recitals and masterclasses for NSW Music Teachers’ Association and other musical organisations state-wide.

Dr. Phillip Rutherford

Primary Wind Ensemble Conductor

Phillip received his PhD and Masters in Music (Composition) at Sydney Conservatorium, and received his Bachelor of Music at Newcastle Conservatorium.

He works as Head of Musicianship, teaching all aspects of Music Theory, history and composition, and has written a series of books as a new Musicianship course, The Poco Musician.

As a performer and conductor Phillip has previously been Musical Director of Gosford City Brass Band and Central Coast Youth Band, and has performed in the Central Coast Symphony Orchestra, Central Coast Brass, Gosford City Brass Band and Waratah Brass.

Kevin Smith

Junior Wind Ensemble Conductor

Kevin Smith is a clarinet and saxophone teacher who studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with Elizabeth Lim and has performed and toured extensively with youth orchestras and chamber ensembles both regional and internationally including the Sydney Youth Orchestra, Knox Abbotsleigh Youth Orchestra and the Sydney Youth Orchestra Philharmonic.

Kevin accompanied the Sydney Youth Orchestra Philharmonic on their regional tour in 2008 as soloist, performing the Artie Shaw Clarinet Concerto culminating in a performance of the work at the Sydney Opera House.

E-Yang Liu

Senior Wind Ensemble Conductor

E-Yang studied Composition at the University of Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where he developed an interest in conducting and teaching. He studied phrase style conducting through the Australian Band and Orchestra Directors Association (ABODA) Professional Development course with its maestro, Jerry Nowak, eventually becoming an instructor on the course.

E-Yang has worked under several respected directors and performed with the likes of Sydney Conservatorium of Music Symphonic Wind Ensemble, City of Sydney Wind Ensemble, University of New South Wales Wind Ensemble, The Occasionally Performing Symphony Orchestra (TOPS), Sydney Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and the News South Wales Detachment of the Royal Australian NAVY Band amongst many others.

Vicki Harris

Schools Program Administrator

With over 30 years music teaching experience, Central Coast Conservatorium of Music’s Schools Program Administrator and Woodwind tutor, Vicki Harris, is passionate about giving as many children as possible the opportunity to learn an instrument.

She teaches saxophone, clarinet and flute and also conducts several school bands through the Conservatorium’s Schools Music Program.

“I believe in giving everyone a go and my goal as a music educator is to make learning an instrument affordable and available for anyone who wants it, to offer a high standard of music tuition always and of course to make learning an instrument fun and rewarding” says Vicki.

Starting out on piano when she was eight, Vicki went on to study saxophone, flute and clarinet during high school and beyond. She then graduated with an Associate Diploma of Music Teaching from Sydney Conservatorium of Music before running a very successful private music studio.

“I believe I have an excellent rapport with students, particularly primary school aged children but have successfully taught students of all ages and abilities,” she says.

Vicki has also worked as a private music tutor in a number of school music programs in both Sydney and on the Central Coast and in both private and public
Schools.

She has worked for the Conservatorium’s Schools Program since 2017, conducting primary school bands and teaching woodwind groups and one-to-one lessons. She took on the role of Schools Program Administrator in 2019 and now oversees the
program while continuing to work as a conductor and woodwind tutor.

Nicky Castle

Events Manager, Program Coordinator

Nicky Castle is a dynamic and accomplished arts administrator, events and programs specialist, and performing arts educator with over a decade of experience leading complex artistic operations and community-driven programs across the Central Coast and beyond.

As Events, Orchestral & Programs Manager at the Central Coast Conservatorium of Music, Nicky has coordinated a wide range of events, workshops, and concert series, working collaboratively with musicians and organisations across Australia. Her work spans orchestral management, artistic liaison, multi-venue coordination, and strategic program development – all delivered with precision, warmth, and a deep commitment to artistic excellence.

Nicky’s career blends administrative expertise with creative vision. With a background in performance, directing, choreography, and children’s music education, she brings unique insight into the artistic process and the human experience behind every production. She has worked extensively with young performers and families both in Australia and the USA, championing community access to the performing arts and designing programs that educate, empower, and inspire.

With a calm presence in fast-paced environments, Nicky is known for her leadership, stakeholder engagement, and problem-solving abilities – as well as her dedication to fostering inclusive, purpose-driven arts experiences. She has also led certified wellness and movement training programs across NSW, Victoria, and Queensland, and continues to draw from a holistic lens in all she does.

Sharon Ferguson

Accounts Payable, Receivable & Payroll Officer

Outside of work, Sharon enjoys travelling and has recently been rediscovering her passion for photography. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, exploring new places, and relaxing on the weekends.

Sharon values the strong sense of community at the Central Coast Conservatorium of Music and the friendships she has built over the years. She finds it a rewarding place to work and appreciates the supportive and collaborative environment among the team.

Sharon currently works in the Accounts Payable, Receivable, and Payroll department, overseeing the Conservatorium’s financial operations. Her journey at the Conservatorium began when a friend recommended her for a role as CMP Administrator. Since then, she has progressed through a range of administrative positions, including roles in the Admin Team and Accounts Receivable, before moving into her current role. These experiences have provided Sharon with a broad understanding of the Conservatorium and its operations.

Kathleen Novosel

Administration

Perth-born Kathleen moved to the Central Coast 11 years ago with her husband Paul, a professional musician and drummer. “We decided to make the move to the East Coast because there were more performing opportunities here,” said Kathleen, who is also now mum to two boys aged 14 and 16.

“It is thanks to Paul I have developed a greater understanding of music appreciation and the skills and talents required of professional musicians. So when I saw the role advertised here at the Conservatorium of Music my interest was piqued.

Kathleen previously worked in an administrative role at a Central Coast aged care facility. “I am looking forward to meeting more families and students and learning more about the Conservatorium,” said Kathleen

You can find Kathleen in the front office of the Con at 45 Mann Street from Monday to Thursday, where she will also be available on the phone to answer your questions.

Loading...