Alexander Rodrigues

Alexander Rodrigues is an orchestral and choral conductor currently living in Hobart.

Alexander was born in Brisbane and graduated from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Science (Astrophysics) and Arts (Music). In 2018, he was the Tasmanian Young Achiever of the Year Finalist and completed a Master’s of Music performance degree in Orchestral Conducting with Professor Johannes Fritzsch at the University of Tasmania having also completed a Bachelor of Music with Honours degree at the same institution.

From mid-2021 to 2022, Alexander was the Robert and Elizabeth Albert Conducting Fellow with The Australian Ballet under the guidance of Nicolette Fraillon and in early 2023, was awarded an Ian Potter Cultural Trust grant to travel to see other ballet companies rehearse and perform. He has since been invited to be guest conductor with Queensland Ballet for two seasons in their 2023 season, conducting performances with Camerata – Queensland Chamber Orchestra.

Alexander learnt the piano and violin from a young age before learning the oboe, and has been the principal oboist of the Tasmanian Youth Orchestra and the UTAS Conservatorium Orchestra. While studying at UQ, he learnt pipe organ and was awarded the Organ Society of Queensland’s Pipe Organ Scholarship. He has since performed on the instrument with the Queensland Youth Orchestra’s Wind Symphony, the University of Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Chorus as well as the Derwent Symphony Orchestra, Hobart. Alexander plays harpsichord and has performed with the UTAS Conservatorium Orchestra, Derwent Symphony Orchestra and regularly performs on a spinet with Ensemble Antiqua. Alexander has a huge passion for singing and sings with various choirs around Australia including The Australian Voices, TSO Chorus, Allegri Ensemble, UQ Choral and the National Youth Choir of Australia. In 2020, Alexander made his debut as a vocal soloist singing the tenor solo in Handel’s Messiah held at St David’s Cathedral. He’s since sung Mozart and Lloyd Webber’s Requiem, Schubert’s Mass in G, with Ensemble Antiqua, a Tasmanian vocal quartet ‘VoQ’ as a vocal soloist.

Alexander’s interest in conducting began in 2009 and has seen him conduct the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra as part of the inaugural Australian Conducting Academy in 2018. He has also conducted the Berlin Sinfonietta as part of two International Masterclass Berlin courses with Professors Johannes Wilder and Roberto Paternostro as well as participating in the Zlin Conducting Masterclass in the Czech Republic with Luke Dollman and Professor Atso Almila conducting the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra. Over the years, Alexander has participated in various conducting masterclasses in Australia run by Melbourne Youth Orchestras, ABODA, Gondwana Choirs and audited various Symphony Services workshops.

In 2015 Alexander was appointed assistant conductor for the Moreton Bay Symphony Orchestra and conducted them on their 2017 New Zealand tour. Alexander has been a frequent guest conductor of the Hobart Chamber Orchestra and Derwent Symphony Orchestra. He was assistant conductor for the Tasmanian Youth Orchestra (2019-2021) and was conductor for the new TYO Chamber Orchestra in 2021. From 2018, Alexander was artistic director and conductor of the Tasmanian Medical Orchestra, expanding their public profile and hosting Christmas charity concerts which raised over $3000 for the Royal Hobart Hospital Research Foundation and providing presents for children spending Christmas in Hospital. Alexander formed a scratch orchestra to perform as part of the St Mary’s Cathedral Concert Series which has continued to develop and grow over the years and now forms an integral part of the Concert Series. In 2022, Stonnington Symphony in Melbourne, invited Alexander to be the guest conductor for their Sundays Series 2 program and invited him back in 2023 and 2024 to conduct The Nutcracker and Peter and Wolf for their children’s concerts.

Having been involved in music at church since 2007, Alexander was appointed musical director of Holy Cross Catholic Parish in 2014 and conducted the choir until he left Brisbane to arrive in Hobart in August 2015. He is a cantor, choir member and organist at St Mary’s Catholic Cathedral in Hobart where he has also been the Acting Director of Music when required while serving on the Cathedral Pastoral Council and Finance and Maintenance Committee. In the second half of 2019, he produced and launched the St Mary’s Cathedral Concert Series which commenced in 2020. This highly successful concert series has since had close to 50 performances and raised over $40,000 for the music ministry of the Cathedral to fund scholarships and cover the maintenance of the Cathedral’s pipe organ. He is currently an active committee member of the Royal School of Church Music in Queensland.

Alexander’s involvement with TYO began when he moved to Tasmania in 2015 and joined the senior orchestra as tutti oboist. The following year, he became principal oboist and remained so until 2018 when he surpassed the age requirements. He was then invited to help out with projects in the TYO office until becoming Program Administrator in 2020. While doing this, he was assistant conductor for the Tasmanian Youth Orchestra (2019-2021) and was guest conductor for the newly-formed TYO Chamber Orchestra in 2021 and again in 2024.

Aleander is thrilled to now return to the TYO family between concerts on the mainland.