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ABOUT
Simone Menezes is celebrated for her musical depth, interpretative insight, and acclaimed recordings. She has conducted some of the world’s most prestigious orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Santa Cecilia Orchestra, Osaka Symphony, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Vienna Radio Orchestra, and Orchestre de Chambre de Paris. She has also collaborated with leading musicians such as Fazıl Say, Gautier Capuçon, Thomas Adès, Kaija Saariaho, Philippe Hersant, and Paavo Järvi. She has conducted over 20 world premieres, excelling in both traditional and contemporary repertoire. Her recordings have received critical acclaim.
As a musical director and curator since 2020, Simone collaborates with major venues such as Philharmonie de Paris, Konzerthaus in Vienna, Boulez Saal Berlin, and Philharmonie de Köln, among others, leading successive award-winning projects. In 2020, working with photographer Sebastião Salgado and Philharmonie de Paris, she created Amazônia (Villa-Lobos and Glass), an acclaimed concert performed with more than 15 orchestras around the globe. With her Ensemble K, she created in 2022 the documentary/concert Metanoia (Puccini, Bach, Pärt), which won the "Best Video in Performance & Documentaries" award at the 2023 International Classical Music Awards. In 2023, a Ravel project — including a recording with pianist François-Xavier Poizat and the London Philharmonia Orchestra — was selected as an Editor’s Choice by Gramophone magazine.
In 2024, Scheherazade, a Tale was nominated for the German Critics’ Prize. In 2025, she commissioned the world premiere of Fazıl Say's piano concerto Mother Earth. In 2024, Scheherazade, a Tale was nominated for the German Critics’ Prize. In 2025, she commissioned the world premiere of Fazıl Say's piano concerto Mother Earth.
Simone also leads Ensemble K, a French-based ensemble founded in 2019. The ensemble explores a rich repertoire that combines classical traditions with bold, forward-looking projects. Described by Le Monde as “Klassic, Kosmopolitan, Kréatif, Konnected,” Simone brings serious and intelligent dialogue to her work, taking classical music beyond its traditional boundaries and creating experiences of global artistic impact at major international events such as the Dubai and Osaka World Expos, as well as in collaborations with brands such as Cartier and Zurich Insurance.
Simone Menezes is Italo-Brazilian, based in France, and studied in São Paulo and at the École Normale de Paris. She was a student of Colin Metters at the Royal Academy of Music in London and mentored by Paavo Järvi early in her career. She established a solid career in Brazil as both principal conductor and guest conductor, and has spent the past 10 years working regularly around the globe.
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Simone Menezes
Conductor and director of K, chamber orchestra
MUSIC