The Cat Empire with WASO

The Cat Empire

Aussie icons The Cat Empire have had an illustrious career, spanning decades and genres. Illuminating stages across the globe, the band are a magnetic force that have captivated millions of adoring fans with their high energy performances and explosive sound and visuals. With the band’s infectious groove and vibrancy, audiences are guaranteed to shimmy, shake, and sing their way through a Cat Empire set.

Continuing the legacy and the driving force behind the fresh new era for the band are Felix Riebl and Ollie McGill, two of the original three founding members of the group. Breathing energy into the band, the new project showcases a wonderful collective of musicians who make sure to retain the core DNA of The Cat Empire but include more collaborations, influences, and diverse artistry.

Leaning into a sense of musical curiosity with boundless possibilities, this newfound spirit shines an even brighter light on the band’s exuberant musicality, elevating their sound and broadening their influences. On the live circuit, The Cat Empire’s new show celebrates movement, vibrancy, and playfulness – with a host of new material as well as the crowd-favourites.

With a history of multiple platinum records, awards, sold out tours and over 250 million streams – The Cat Empire have officially entered their golden era.

Vanessa Scammell
Conductor

Vanessa Scammell enjoys a diverse portfolio of work as a conductor of ballet, musical theatre, concert repertoire and opera.

Vanessa Scammell’s most recent engagements include 5 performances of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, a double bill (The Dream/Marguerite and Armand) for The Australian Ballet, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and a concert version of Singin’ in the Rain.

In 2021/2022, she conducted the Sydney, Melbourne, Queensland and West Australian Symphony Orchestras in programmes such as Vera Blue, The Bamboos, Birds of Tokyo, An Evening with Anthony Warlow, Love Actually, To Barbra With Love and Opera in the Outback (for Opera Queensland). In 2024, she conducts all the major symphony orchestras in a variety of works.

Vanessa’s postgraduate study included a Masters in Conducting; she has been the recipient of the Brian Stacey Award and the Robert and Elizabeth Albert Conducting Fellowship for The Australian Ballet.

Conducting credits include; The Dream, Body Torque, Nutcracker, and An American in Paris for The Australian Ballet; The Merry Widow, My Fair Lady, South Pacific and La Traviata for Opera Australia; and musical theatre engagements including Funny Girl (Sydney Symphony Orchestra), Hello Dolly, The Light in the Piazza, The Producers, Damn Yankees, West Side Story, Chicago, The Phantom of the Opera, Titanic, CATS and Fiddler on the Roof.

Vanessa has regularly conducted the Sydney, Queensland, Melbourne, Christchurch, West Australian and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras. Her concert credits include: From Broadway to La Scala; Peter and Jack starring Barry Humphries, Idina Menzel LIVE – Barefoot at the Symphony; Eskimo Joe and Lea Salonga in Concert. She has also conducted staged concert versions of Sweeney Todd and Jekyll & Hyde (both starring Anthony Warlow).

She was Musical Director for The Divorce (an opera commissioned for television by Opera Australia, Princess Pictures and the ABC) and was the Helpmann Award’s Music Director for 13 years.

In 2018, Vanessa conducted The Merry Widow for Opera Australia, West Australian Opera and Opera Queensland. She also led a symphonic tour of Planet Earth for the BBC; in 2019, she conducted the national tour of Blue Planet 2 for the same organisation.