Dr John Ferguson was born in London, and worked as a Musical Director for theatres, brass bands and choirs, and as an arranger and conductor for Television South West (TSW) and Thames Television.

As a conductor, John studied with Dr Roy Truby in the UK, and, in Australia with Robert Rosen, Myer Fredman and Barry Bignell. He holds a Master’s degree in conducting from the Victorian College of the Arts, and a PhD from the University of Melbourne. In 2001 he received a Symphony Australia scholarship to study with Jorma Panula, and later a scholarship to the International Conducting Academy in Romania. Other conducting engagements have included the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra strings, the Tasmanian Discovery Orchestra, the Australian Discovery Orchestra and engagements in Singapore, Shanghai, Nanjing and Beijing, including being guest conductor for the Xiamen International Piano Festival in 2016 and the Xiamen Philharmonic in 2019.

He is founder and conductor of the Pro Music Orchestra and the Ambassadorial Youth Chamber Orchestra. In 2007 he conducted an acclaimed performance of the Yellow River Concerto with the distinguished Chinese pianist Yin Chengzong, and the world premiere of Chu Wanghua’s ‘Silk Road’ symphony, broadcast throughout China, by China Central Television. John worked as a conductor for the VCA Opera School for four years, and was also chief conductor for Melbourne City Opera. John is passionate about the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, and has conducted Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Victoria for some 16 productions, being made a life member of GSOV in 2017. John has received the Theatre Guild ‘Musical Director of the Year’ award three times.

Dr Ferguson is regularly invited to adjudicate festivals and eisteddfods, has been an AMEB examiner since 1988, and has been a guest lecturer at Beijing and Chengdu Normal Universities and the Tianjin, Xiamen and Sichuan Conservatories in China. Dr Ferguson has been musicology researcher at the University of Melbourne, and has presented academic papers for various conferences, including the Musicological Association of Australia annual conference.