James Pensini is one of the leading conductors of youth instrumental music in Australia. Alongside his work at Sydney Youth Orchestras, he is also Head of Music Performance P-12 at Santa Sabina College.

James studied Trumpet and Conducting at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and has performed and toured extensively with many orchestras and ensembles. Performance highlights include: performing as Principal Trumpet with The Sydney Youth Orchestra including a tour of Spain and Portugal; performing as Principal Trumpet with the Australian Youth Orchestra including a tour of France, Germany and the Netherlands with pianist Jean Yves Thibaudet; performing as a member of the Sydney Symphony Training Orchestra and performing as Lead Trumpet with the Australian Youth All-Star Big Band including a tour to the Monterey Jazz Festival. James has also taught a significant number of trumpet students, some of whom hold down senior leadership positions in major Australian symphony orchestras.

As a conductor, James has worked in and run many of the finest instrumental music programs for young people at a school and representative level in Australia and has lead more than fifty regional, interstate and international tours. His work has taken him from conducting choirs at St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, youth orchestras at the Berlin Philharmonie, wind ensembles with the United States Navy Band all the way to incredible community ensembles in Far-West New South Wales. James is a former State and National Board member of the Australian Band and Orchestra Directors Association, and is regularly called upon as an adjudicator, guest conductor, workshop presenter and conducting mentor.

In 2017, James conducted The Sydney Youth Orchestra on a European Tour including workshops with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. James has twice been the conductor of original Sydney Festival programs, “Encounter” in 2020, an original site specific orchestral and dance work and “A Taste of Spain” in 2025, a celebration of flamenco dance and Spanish culture. James is the founding conductor of the Western Sydney Youth Orchestra, conducts the Peter Seymour Orchestra, and assists Stanley Dodds with The.Sydney Youth Orchestra. James is SYO’s Head of Orchestral Training and Artistic Programming.