Vanessa Croome is a critically acclaimed singer and producer signed to Canada’s premiere classical label, ATMA Classique. She co-founded Duo Étrange in 2023 with cellist Sahara von Hattenberger — an ensemble dedicated to the creation and performance of new works for voice and cello hailed as “redefining vocal chamber music” (PANM 360) and winners of the 2025 New Music USA Creator Fund. Their début album, featuring works by celebrated composers including Nicole Lizée, will be released in 2026 alongside a début at Salle Bourgie. Known for her work in both classical and contemporary music, Vanessa is an alumni of the Santa Fe Opera, Opéra de Montréal, Oberlin Conservatory, and McGill University. In 2024 and 2025 Vanessa was recognized as one of Montreal's Top 50 Women Leaders for her work creating new classical music. 

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Recent and upcoming engagements include a vocal fellowship with the acclaimed contemporary festival Bang on a Can at MASS MoCA and performances at Loud Weekend including multiple world premieres and works by David Lang, Julia Wolfe, Michael Gordon, and Gemma Peacocke; Queen of the Night (The Magic Flute, Jacksonville Symphony); Königin der Nacht (Kosky’s Die Zauberflöte, Opéra de Montréal); Soloist (M.Butterfly - world premiere, Santa Fe Opera); Léa (L'hiver attend beaucoup de moi - world premiere, Opéra de Montréal), La Folie (Platée, Orchestre de L’Agora) and concert debuts with l'Orchestre Métropolitain and l’Orchestre Symphonique de Drummondville, as well as critically acclaimed recital debuts at the Chapelle Historique du Bon-Pasteur and L’Association des Arts et Culture dans les Hautes Vosges, France. In June 2025, Duo Étrange was featured as part of a directorial showcase with Metropolitan Opera director Marcus Shields and Broadway scenographer Frank J Oliva for their multi-disciplinary concert concept Very Feral Today.

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Creating contemporary classical art for modern audiences has become an obsession for Vanessa as a co-founder of the voice and cello group, Duo Étrange. Since the Duo’s founding in 2023, they have had remarkable early success. Their 2026 début disk with ATMA Classique was supported by a $50,000 award from the Canada Council for the Arts and will feature multiple world premieres from composers Nicole Lizée, Airat Ichmouratov, Laurence Jobidon, and Jeffrey Fong alongside works from Luna Pearl Woolf, Anders Hillborg, and Maya Fridman. The Duo is rapidly making a name for themselves on the concert stage and in the world of new music with débuts at Salle Bourgie, Avaloch Farm Music Institute, Le Vivier,  and Montreal's historic concert series at the Chapelle Historique du Bon Pasteur slated for 2026 and 2027. Additional recent engagements include a coveted spot on the 2024-2025 Le Vivier Pôle Relève, and artistic residencies with Yellow Barn and Avaloch Farm developing an original arrangement of Ligeti's Mysteries of the Macabre in collaboration with composer Jeffrey Fong. The Duo's upcoming commission supported by New Music USA will feature a new song collection by the genre-bending prodigious young composer Kebra Seyoun-Charles setting text and poetry written by Vanessa. 

A graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and McGill University, Vanessa received young artist training with Opéra de Montréal, the Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and the Staatstheater Augsburg. A winner of the Opéra de Montréal Prix Étoile Stingray, Vanessa was a finalist for the Canadian Opera Company Centre Stage Competition and the McGill University Elizabeth Wirth Vocal Prize, as well as a semi-finalist for the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Competition, a two-time winner of the Francis Poulenc Foundation Award, and a 2020, and 2023 winner of Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques with Théâtre Lyrichorégra. 

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