Ten years ago Melody Pool was a rising star of the Australian folk music scene. She won awards and released two acclaimed albums of heartbreaking songs, and then she disappeared. It takes a lot of guts to step back publicly from the music industry when your career has so much momentum, but Melody made the decision to prioritise her mental health.

Last year she made a return to recording and touring; free of the constraints of a major label contract and determined to do things on her terms. And she's writing some of her best music yet.

When Sam Weller started conducting he didn't have an orchestra to practice with so he started his own. Over eight years Ensemble Apex has introduced eclectic audiences to classical and contemporary repertoire in unconventional settings (think art storage facilities, breweries, and rooms where the audience sits amongst the orchestra). Sam Weller is also one of 6 'designated winners' of the International Conducting Competition Rotterdam and he explains to Andrew Ford the rigours of a competition like this, and why it pays to be versatile.