This Australia Day, Ms Dickerson, 51, is being recognised for her stellar career with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the performing arts.

Her resume boasts productions including The Book of Mormon, Showboat, The Sound of Music, The Wizard of Oz, The Producers and My Fair Lady.

But it's not just on the stage that Ms Dickerson shines.

She has taught and mentored young conductors over the years and helped stars enter the industry through the Rob Guest Endowment, for which she was founder and is an executive committee member.

She is a panel member for the Helpmann Awards and New Musicals Australia, and former panel member for the Australia Council for Arts.

She received the Green Room Arts Award for Musical Direction of Wicked, Once and City of Angels, and the Churchill Fellowship for musical direction of original works.

Ms Dickerson said it was "an honour" and "a great surprise" to be recognised - and said her nomination all began with her childhood friend, fellow Dubbo local Genevieve Peacocke.

Ms Dickerson is proud of having achieved a successful career in the performing arts in Australia, which she said was "difficult to sustain".

"Amongst the proudest moments would be conducting at Carnegie Hall, accepting a Churchill Fellowship for new musicals at Government House and bringing that knowledge back to Australia, conducting the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and reaching the million dollar mark with the Rob Guest Endowment which means we can grant a scholarship for $50,000 and make a real difference," she said.

At day's end, Ms Dickerson instructs her cast to ask themselves: Did I do my best and did I do my kindest?

"If you answer yes to both then you're on the right track," she said.

She wants young people from the country, particularly girls, to know that they can "do anything, you just need to be good at what you do".

"As a female conductor I hope that girls in the future see it as a possibility for a career that's both challenging and rewarding," she said.

This year Ms Dickerson is working on the stage show of Frozen and writing a book to share the knowledge she has gained over her career.