Vanessa Scammell

She has conducted the Sydney, Melbourne, Queensland, West Australian, Adelaide, and Christchurch Symphony Orchestras in programmes spanning classical, crossover, and contemporary music. Recent engagements include Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban with the Sydney Symphony, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I with the Melbourne Symphony, and concerts with Megan Washington alongside leading Australian orchestras.

With The Australian Ballet, Vanessa has conducted The Dream, Marguerite and Armand, An American in Paris, The Nutcracker, and Body Torque. In 2025, she conducts the Macao Orchestra and all six major Australian symphony orchestras.

Her concert work encompasses From Broadway to La Scala, Peter and Jack (starring Barry Humphries), Idina Menzel LIVE – Barefoot at the Symphony, and Lea Salonga in Concert. She has led symphonic tours of Planet Earth and Blue Planet II (BBC), as well as live performances of Love Actually, The Holiday, Casino Royale, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, The Princess Bride, and The Man from Snowy River. She also conducted staged concert versions of Sweeney Todd and Jekyll & Hyde (both starring Anthony Warlow).

For Opera Australia, she has conducted The Merry Widow, South Pacific, La traviata, and My Fair Lady. Her musical theatre credits include Funny Girl (Sydney Symphony), Hello Dolly, The Light in the Piazza, The Producers, CATS, Damn Yankees, West Side Story, Chicago, Titanic, The Phantom of the Opera, and Fiddler on the Roof.

She was Music Director for the televised opera The Divorce (Opera Australia/ABC) and Music Director for the Helpmann Awards for 13 years.

Vanessa holds a Master’s degree in Conducting and is a recipient of the Brian Stacey Award and the Robert and Elizabeth Albert Conducting Fellowship with The Australian Ballet.