Conservatorium Students’ Association

Founded in 1919, the Conservatorium Students’ Association (CSA) is the student union by and for students at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music; it’s the sole body dedicated to student culture and representation at the Con.

The principal administrative organ of the Association is the Secretariat, comprised of the President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer. They set the vision of the Association for the year, and ensure the various portfolia can do their job without hiccups, including managing the Treasury, keeping governance documentation, and registers of membership. They also sit on a variety of Conservatorium committees, including the School Board and Education Committee, where they raise concerns regarding the quality and experience of study in music at the University.

The Executive Council is the principal executive organ of the Association, overseeing all of the initiatives directly organised by the Association. There are then 6 Executive Departments and 9 Representative Offices, which each have various responsibilities to manage the various social events, wellbeing initiatives, merchandise, marketing, publications, partnerships, concerts, competitions, and more. All the executive directors and representative officers meet in the ExCouncil to report on the work of their portfolio, and provide feedback on the work of others to ensure it best supports the students at the Con.

Each area of study has their own Department Society within the CSA, led by their department president, who, alongside all the other department presidents and representative officers, compose the Representative Council (the "legislative organ" of the Association). They come together for discussion on the governance of the Association, as well as any concerns from their portfolio about studying at the Con, be it how assessments are handled, timetabling issues, diversity of concert series, classes on offer, environmental impact, and more. The RepCouncil can then decide whether to raise these issues at the regular Student-Staff Liaison Committee meetings, other Conservatorium committees, or bring to larger bodies in the University, such as the Academic Board or the Students' Representative Council.

Alongside creating and supporting the student culture of the Con, the CSA is the main line of contact between students and staff at the Conservatorium. All students at the Con are automatically represented by us, but becoming a member grants you voting rights in elections, primary access to events, cheaper tickets and merchandise, helps with our funding, and just generally helps us help you.

As the official provider of Sydney Con merch, we sell hoodies, t-shirts, keep-cups, and more. All funds go directly back to the work of the Association, meaning it all goes into paying for your student experience.

The annual Conservatorium gala at the end of the year, the Con Ball, is the largest event organised by the Association. A celebration of all our accomplishments for the year, it is when we award life memberships and other annual awards such as the Executive of the Year and the Member of the Year.

We also run start- and end-of-semester parties to meet all your peers, and generally just have a good time! You can also join us at the post-Greenway drinks after each of the major concerts of the Con, usually down at the Paragon Hotel (where we get student discounts).

The Con is made up of an incredibly diverse group of students from all sorts of communities and of all types of identities. The different Representative Offices and Department Societies organise regular social events, such as picnics and band nights, for their group. The Association then organises other larger events for everyone, like trivia nights, start- and end-of-semester parties, pub crawls, and more.

Our Representative Offices are:

• Environment Office
• Women’s Office
• Queer Office
• Disability Office
• First Nations Office
• Pasifika Office
• Ethnocultural Office
• International Office

Our Department Societies are:

• Philharmonic Society
• Chamber Music Society
• Opera & Ballet Society
• Jazz Society
• Minyue Society (Chinese Music)
• Music Theatre Society
• Contemporary Music Society
• Music Education Society
• Society of Composers
• Musicological Society