Praised for her 'infectious energy' and elegant phrasing, Aleksandra Melaniuk is a conductor particularly drawn to repertoire shaped by folk influences and marked by strong dramatic character and vivid orchestral colour. She currently serves as a Salonen Conducting Fellow in the Negaunee Conducting Program at the Colburn School and the San Francisco Symphony.
Recent highlights include her subscription concert debut with the Helsinki Philharmonic, with the San Francisco Symphony in the SoundBox series, and a last minute jump-in to conduct four performances of Verdi's La Traviata at Opera Holland Park. In the season 2025/26 she makes her debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the Symphonies for the Youth series and joins the Verbier Festival Conducting Programme.
Recent highlights include her subscription concert debut with the Helsinki Philharmonic, with the San Francisco Symphony in the SoundBox series, and a last minute jump-in to conduct four performances of Verdi's La Traviata at Opera Holland Park. In the season 2025/26 she makes her debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the Symphonies for the Youth series and joins the Verbier Festival Conducting Programme.
Her work as a cover conductor includes engagements with Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony (with Esa-Pekka Salonen), Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Orquesta Nacional de España (with Simone Young).
With a keen passion for opera, Aleksandra has served as associate conductor for Verdi's La Traviata in Opera Holland Park, and as assistant conductor for Bizet's Carmen and Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito at the Baltic Opera. In 2023, she worked alongside Sian Edwards on Oliver Leith’s Last Days as part of the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme in collaboration with the Royal Opera House’s Jette Parker Artists Programme.
In March 2025, she joined the Ziering-Conlon Initiative for Recovered Voices, a programme devoted to reviving music by composers silenced under the oppressive regimes of twentieth-century Europe, including Mieczysław Weinberg, whose work she later featured in a dedicated concert.
Alongside her symphonic and operatic work, Aleksandra has conducted at the Fiskars Summer Festival and Fiskars Easter Session, organised by the LEAD! Foundation under the mentorship of Jukka-Pekka Saraste. She has further developed her craft in masterclasses with Paavo Järvi, Johannes Schlaefli, Sian Edwards, Nicolas Pasquet, Dalia Stasevska, and James Gaffigan.
Aleksandra became the youngest semi-finalist of the 17th Donatella Flick Conducting Competition, where she conducted London Symphony Orchestra, and she was named one of the winners of the 2023 Das Kritische Orchester, led by Forum Dirigieren. She is also a semi-finalist of the International Conducting Competition in Rotterdam.