More than a conductor…

Ukrainian born, Australian conductor Vladimir Fanshil completed his five years of study in St Petersburg. Vladimir’s outstanding communication and team-work skills made him a preferred assistant conductor, and for four years he was mentored by musical icon Iván Fischer.

His time assisting spanned the world’s most spectacular halls, top orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, Concertgebouw Orchestra and a vast range of repertoire, building his knowledge and experience. He became a well-loved part of the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Konzerthaus Orchester Berlin and performed later as a guest conductor with both ensembles.

Since then Vladimir has established highly successful and ongoing relationships with prestigious orchestras  in Europe including the Mariinsky Theatre (guest conductor until 2019), Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, and both the Odessa Philharmonic and Odessa Opera in his native city. In 2023, Vladimir enjoyed a 4-week residency with the Bilkent Symphony as well as appearances with Opera Australia. He has also conducted the Orchestre National d’Ile de France at the Paris Philharmonie, Konzerthaus Orchestra Berlin, The Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, The NFM Wroclaw Philharmonic, Poland, both conducted and toured with the Budapest Festival Orchestra. 

In 2019, Vladimir conducted a new production of Stravinsky’s Pulcinella and Apollon Musagète at the Rijeka State Opera and Ballet Theatre, Croatia as well as large-scale works choral and orchestral works in Romania (Cluj, Oradea and Târgu Mures). He was the artistic director and conductor of the successful Debut to Master concert series at the St. Petersburg Philharmonic from 2012-18. 

In Australia, Vladimir has worked with both The Australian Ballet (Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliette) at the Sydney Opera House and with Opera Australia (numerous projects). He conducted and hosted the finals of the Australian Singing Competition with the Opera Australia Orchestra.  He was also engaged to both conduct and accompany on the piano Opera Australia’s beloved Uluru Tour, and the Music for Ukraine Benefit concert at the City Recital Hall, Angel Place in Sydney Australia, as well as over fifty critically acclaimed performances for Live at Yours, often with his wife, soprano Eleanor Lyons. 

During the coronavirus pandemic Vladimir turned his attention to bringing salon-style concerts to new audiences and harnessed his entrepreneurship skills to found Australia’s fastest growing live musical company Live at Yours. In its first year, 85 concerts were presented thanks to his rare mix of artistic, financial and business leadership. The Live at Yours concerts showcased his range of talents from the piano, conducting or guiding audiences through the music using his excellent public speaking skills and love of poetry. He is passionate to ignite a love of classical music in new and youth audiences. Vladimir’s gifted musical programming, organisational skills and artist base were the reason he was chosen by international events company BI International to organise large-scale events in Russia. His passion brought the best Russia had to offer to an international audience for an overwhelmingly unforgettable experience.

Vladimir is also a published poet and continues to write poetry.