The Conservatorium started life as part of the education faculty under the foundation Professor Sir Frank Callaway.

The first students to graduate with post-graduate qualifications emerged in 1971, and the late seventies saw the beginning of the Bachelor of Music Education - the department now having come full circle from its roots.

Dr Cecilia Sun, a Fulbright scholar and protégé of Malcolm Bilson, joined the faculty in 2017 as a musicologist and performance specialist.

Dr Sun, together with concertmaster of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra Shaun Lee-Chen and celebrated vocalist Sara Macliver, founded the school’s Irwin Street Collective.

Dr Adam Pinto, pianist, composer and well known for his research on Roger Smalley, joined the faculty as full-time staff in 2022.

His WASO colleagues assistant concertmaster Semra Lee, principal timpanist Alex Timpke and others teach performance students.

[28] Honorary Research Fellows include composers Iain Grandage,[29] early music specialist and administrator Emeritus Professor Margaret Seares Guitarist Craig Ogden,[30] the soprano Sara Macliver and organist and choral director Joseph Nolan[31][32] In 2012, UWA adopted a new set of standard degrees, similar to other universities in Australia who have been examining the "Melbourne Model"[33] This requires students to take at least one major, and other related areas.

Entry to the UWA Conservatorium of Music is a two-stage process that requires both an audition for the school, and admission to the university.

[41] Currently, the School offers the following postgraduate qualifications: Located on the North Eastern corner of the Crawley campus, the Conservatorium of Music overlooks the Swan River.

The Eileen Joyce studio, dedicated to the memory of one of Australia's great pianists, houses a significant collection of antique and current keyboard instruments, and is regularly used for chamber music performances.

[43] The Callaway auditorium, dedicated to the foundation Professor of Music, is an oft-used small concert venue, and houses most of the large-scale lectures.