Carmel Dean (1995)

Carmel Dean graduated from Penrhos in 1995 and went on to be accepted to the prestigious Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), graduating with a Bachelor of Music.

In 2001 Carmel was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study in the United States, and subsequently graduated from NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program with a Master of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre Writing. 

Now based in New York, Carmel is a Musical Director, Arranger, and Composer, having worked on the Broadway musicals If/Then starring Idina Menzel, Hands on a Hardbody, American Idiot, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

Carmel notably worked on the 2000 Olympic Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies (Sydney) and performed with Green Day at the Grammy Awards in 2010.

Currently, Carmel works as a freelance theatre musician in New York City. For the first ten years of her career, she was mostly a Musical Director and Conductor. Now she spends her time on the creative side of projects, either composing, arranging, orchestrating, music supervising, or a combination of them all! 

Carmel is about to open The Notebook on Broadway, which is her first as a Supervisor and Co-Orchestrator. This musical has seen Carmel be nominated for a Grammy Award, for Best Musical Theatre Album.

Carmel also has a side business as a Travel Advisor. She combined her two passions, theatre and travel, to create a business called Places, Please - Travel for Theatre Lovers, curating one-of-a-kind theatrical experiences (plus ‘regular’ holidays, too).