Marco Zuccarini will conduct The Queensland Orchestra and act as a jury member in the final round of the Competition.  Mr Zuccarini was born in Milan, is a graduate of the Conservatorium Giuseppe Verdi and of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Rome and was, for eight years, a clarinettist in the Orchestra da Camera di Padova.   In 1990 he founded the Orchestra de Teatro Olimpico di Vicenza and, in 1992, was appointed resident conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica Abruzzese.  He has directed such acclaimed artists as José Carreras, Katia Ricciarelli and Astor Piazzola.

He is actively involved in the performance of contemporary Italian music conducting the first Italian performance of Hindemith's Der Demon with I Pomeriggi Musicali and dancers from La Scala, Milan in 1996.  His recordings include Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.5 for Naxos and the world-premiere DVD recording of Paisiello's opera, La Serva Padrona.

Since making his first appearances in Australia in 1998 with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra as part of the Festival Of Perth, he has returned each subsequent year to conduct, to date, more than 120 performances with the Melbourne, Adelaide, Tasmanian and West Australian symphony orchestras, The Queensland Orchestra, and Orchestra Victoria and in New Zealand, with the Auckland Philharmonia. Recent engagements include the Orchestra of Cannes, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, the National Symphony Orchestra Of Venezuala and the State Symphony Orchestra in Santiago, Chile.

Maestro Zuccarini made his debut for Opera Australia conducting Puccini’s Madam Butterfly in Sydney during 2003.