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Touring Europe by trumpet

Music student Darcey O’Malley is using a short study trip abroad to his best advantage.

Music student Darcey O’Malley knew the value of study overseas, particularly for musicians. So when the chance came to study with some renowned teachers in Denmark and Switzerland, he and his trumpet were off. He spoke to us from Lucerne to explain how he was using a short study trip abroad to best advantage.

I study Bachelor of Music (Classical Music Performance) at the Conservatorium in Hobart. I’m almost finished. I’m in third year, with just one semester to go. One of my lecturers mentioned and exchange program in Lucerne a couple of years ago and I thought this sounded wonderful as Lucerne has quite a bit of prestige in terms of the trumpet, which I play. It’s very competitive here. They have the Lucerne Festival which is huge, and an annual orchestra festival.

Because I’m very close to the end of my undergraduate degree, an exchange would have taken too long to set up, and I would have been finished my degree. So in the end, instead of an exchange, I decided to do a shorter trip. My lecturers at the Conservatorium gave me the contacts and helped me organise the academic side of things.

So in the end, instead of an exchange, I decided to do a shorter trip. My lecturers at the Conservatorium gave me the contacts and helped me organise the academic side of things.

I’m here in Lucerne for four weeks. I’ve just participated in a week-long course in New Music (that’s music that’s been composed in the last 50 years) and then I’m having three weeks of private lessons at the Luzern Hochschule fur Musik, part of the University of Lucerne. I’m also able to travel to see other renowned teachers. Last week I was in Aarhus, Denmark, and London, and worked with teachers in both. I’m also going to The Hague and St Gallen.


As a musician, it’s really important to travel and get different perspectives from players and teachers in different parts of the world. Back home, I find the break between the end of second semester and the start of first semester is a very long time to not be having lessons and finding stuff to inspire you. It can feel like you go a bit backwards, musically. So coming here for this short, intense period of study is proving invaluable.

I’ve met lots of people and it’s opened up many opportunities for me. It’s pretty common for musicians here to study Masters, so it’s possible I’ll come over to study a masters, maybe in Aarhus.

My advice to people considering study overseas is – definitely do it! This has been fantastic for me. And if you can organise an exchange early and come for a whole semester, even better.

Study for a Bachelor of Music at the University of Tasmania’s Conservatorium in Hobart, and you might also be off on musical travels.

The University of Tasmania’s Student Mobility, can help organise many types of overseas study, from short courses to semester-long exchanges.