John Buckley has enjoyed a long, successful career as a conductor, multi-instrumentalist,

adjudicator, clinician and music educator. He began his professional musical career at the age of

sixteen in the Australian Defence Force serving in many locations throughout Australia and

overseas in the Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force. In 1994 he was selected for Band

Officer Training for appointment as a Commissioned Officer in the Royal Australian Air Force. On

graduation, he was awarded the Chief Instructor’s Prize in Conducting and also the Dux of the

Band Officer’s Course.

In 1999, he was appointed Commanding Officer and Music Director of the RAAF Air Command

Band in Sydney, leading this ensemble until its disbandment in 2009. He proudly led this band on

successful tours of New Zealand, East Timor, Gallipoli, Iraq, Afghanistan and throughout Australia.

He also led the band during the 2000 Sydney Olympic, Paralympics Games and Federation

Celebrations in 2001. John was selected on two occasions to participate in the Symphony

Australia Conductor's Program in which he conducted the Queensland, Adelaide and Tasmanian

Symphony Orchestras. John has continued to pursue his passion for music education completing

a Bachelor of Music Education at the University of Sydney in 2011. In the same year, he was

appointed Music Director of the Corrective Services NSW Band which is a 45-piece professional

ensemble serving the people of NSW. He was recently appointed as Head of Bands at Arden

Anglican School in Sydney. John has served as the Music Director of both the Sydney Wind

Symphony and the Wind Symphony at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and an active

clinician and adjudicator for the Sydney Eisteddfod. He has also featured as Guest Conductor of

the Woollahra Philharmonic Orchestra since 2018.