Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 17, 2026

Simone Menezes

Simone Menezes is an Italo-Brazilian conductor based in France.

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Jul 17, 2026
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Simone Menezes
Born (1977-01-22) 22 January 1977
Brasília, Brazil
CitizenshipBrazil and Italy
OccupationsConductor, Artistic Director
Websitewww.simonemenezes.com

Simone Menezes (born 22 January 1977) is an Italo-Brazilian conductor based in France.1

Early life

Simone Menezes (born 22 January 1977) is an international conductor and artistic director based in Paris. She is the founder and artistic director of Ensemble K and has conducted many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, hr-Sinfonieorchester, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, among others. She is recognized for her musical excellence and for the creation of large-scale interdisciplinary cultural projects with worldwide impact.

Career

On her return to Brazil, from 2008 until 2012 she assumed the direction of the Unicamp Symphony Orchestra and became, after Ligia Amadio, only the second woman to be a conductor of a professional orchestra in Brazil. While at the orchestra of UNICAMP, her project "Panorama da Musica Brasileira" received the prize awarded by the São Paulo State Association of Critics.2 She developed several multidisciplinary projects including dance, music, technology and premiered more than 20 works.345

In 2013, she founded and directed the "Camerata Latino Americana",6789 an ensemble specialized in the interpretation of Latin American repertoire and attracted the attention of the ISPA International Society for the Performing Arts of New York and the Association of British Orchestras in London.

In 2014, she founded with the pianist Sonia Rubinsky the "Villa Lobos Project", a project dedicated to promoting the work of the composer Villa-Lobos and classical Brazilian music internationally;1011 the development of a reflection on Brazilian identity in partnership with other artists, researchers and the general public; the realization of artistic and cultural projects such as concerts, masterclasses and publications.

Since 2014, she has been mentored by Paavo Järvi and works as his assistant on several projects.12

In 2019, she was awarded second prize in the European competition MAWOMA (Master Woman Orchestra) for female orchestra conductors at the Musikverein in Vienna.13141516 In the same year, she made her Japanese debut with the Osaka Symphony Orchestra and Chofu International Music Festival.17

Menezes was the second woman to hold the position of chief conductor of a professional orchestra in Brazil, after Lígia Amadio. Today she is widely regarded as the most internationally prominent Brazilian conductor of her generation. She has always been engaged in numerous multidisciplinary projects and her style is considered as innovative. She has worked with composers such as: Thomas Ades,18 Esteban Benzecry,19 Lera Auerbach,20 Philippe Hersant.21

In 2019, she launched a new project called "K", an orchestral ensemble formed by musicians from several countries to explore unusual repertoires and multidisciplinary projects. The ensemble is based in Lille, Belgium and Paris.The Ensemble K released in 2020 his first album Accents by the label Aparté acclaimed by the press and said by the newspaper le monde "Founded in 2019 by the Italian-Brazilian conductor Simone Menezes, Ensemble K calls itself: Klassique, Kosmopolite, Kontemporain, Kréatif, Connected”. And that's true ! " And in 2022, she created with her orchestra K lhe  a multiforme musical project "Metanoia", the project launched by the German label Accentus, includes a CD, a touring and the documentary Metanoia that brings a fresh discussion about classical music, art and photography. The documentary is signed by the Grammy winner Paul Smaczny and features Italian thinker Alberto Cavali, German painter Michael Triegel and conductor Antonio Pappano.222324

In 2021 Philharmonie de Paris commissioned a symphonic project around Amazon Rainforest that Simone developed in partnership with the photographer Sebastiao Salgado, a concert combining the music of Villa-Lobos and Philip Glass with the images of the photographer. The project, acclaimed by "The Guardian", made its debut at the Philharmonie de Paris and went on tour in several cities around the world, passing by the Barbican in London, the Pacco da Musica in Rome among others.2526

In the Universal Exposition of Dubai in 2022, she also leads the concert "The beauty will save the world" with Cartier Women's Initiative as part of the Women's Pavilion at the Universal exhibition in Dubai, bringing a first female conductor, ensemble and a female choir to this country.2728

In 2022, the Amazonia project was released as a CD under the Alpha label, recorded with the Zürich Philharmonia. This project has been presented by prestigious ensembles, including the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra, the Luxembourg Philharmonie, and the Spanish National Orchestra and Choir, among others.2930

The Metanoia project won the International Classical Music Documentary Award for Best Performance/Documentary.

In 2023, her Ravel recording with pianist François-Xavier Poizat and the London Philharmonia Orchestra was awarded the 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 Fazil Say’s piano concerto Mother Earth

In 2023, Simone Menezes was honored as one of the 100 Femmes de Culture.31

In 2024, she will launch the Scheherazade – A Tale 32 project 33 as a residency at the Boulez Saal in Paris. This project will include a CD released by the Alpha label and a co-production with Mezzo and Medici.tv. It features Golshifteh Farahani 34 in the role of Scheherazade, with the text co-constructed by Simone Menezes, Simon Scardfield, and Lynn Sefarty. Additionally, in 2024, Simone will begin the complete recording of Ravel’s works alongside pianist François-Xavier Poizat.35

Personal life

Menezes is married since the age of 20 to the engineer Humberto Menezes and is the mother of Julia Menezes.36

Discography

  • Novos Universos Sonoros with Orquestra Sinfônica da Unicamp (2009)3738
  • Suíte Contemporânea Brasileira with Camerata Latino Americana (2015)839
  • Accents with Ensemble K (Aparté; 2020)40
  • Metanoia - Puccini, Bach, Villa-Lobos, Pärt, Borodin. With Manon Galy, Violine; Ensemble K (Accentus; 2021)412324
  • Amazonia with Zurich Philharmonia and Camila Provenzale - Alpha Label 2023 42
  • Ravel - London Philharmonia and Francois Xavier Poizat - label Aparte 2024 43
  • Sheherazade, a tale - Ensemble K, Golshfiteth Farahani and Kristin Winters - Alpha label 2024 44
References

References

  1. "Musique classique – La cheffe d'orchestre "brésilo-chti" Simone Menezes primée à Vienne". Nord Eclair (in French). 2019-05-08. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  2. "Panorama da Música Brasileira". CIDDIC (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2018-01-19. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  3. "OSMC". www.osmc.com.br. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  4. Douglas (2018-01-15). "Simone Menezes". CIDDIC (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  5. "XXI Bienal de Música Brasileira Contemporânea". Funarte – Portal das Artes. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  6. Cultura, SP Estado da (2016-06-15). "Festival de Campos do Jordão: Camerata Latino Americana". SP Estado da Cultura (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on August 10, 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  7. "Camerata Latino-Americana". Movimento.com (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2014-10-08. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  8. "Suíte Contemporânea Brasileira". Issuu. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  9. "Eu recomendo: Suíte Contemporânea Brasileira – Camerata Latino Americana, Simone Menezes". tratore.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2019-08-14. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  10. "#2: An Interview with Simone Menezes". Notes on Notes Podcast. 2019-03-07. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  11. "Villa-Lobos Project – About". Meu Site (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2019-08-10. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  12. "Hello Stage Blog – Meet Brazilian Conductor Simone Menezes". 2018-08-10. Archived from the original on 2018-08-10. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  13. "MAWOMA press release" (PDF). mawoma-awards.com. 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-01-23. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
  14. "Brasil-Mundo - Brasileira Simone Menezes é finalista do 1° concurso mundial de regentes mulheres em Viena". RFI. April 13, 2019.
  15. "Artist | Wiener KammerOrchester | Page 349".
  16. "SÉLECTIONNÉES".
  17. "Festival brochure" (PDF). www.chofu-culture-community.org. 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-08-10. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
  18. "Thomas Adès – Living Toys". www.thomasades.com. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  19. "Esteban Benzecry". Centre de documentation de la musique contemporaine (in French). 2019-04-09. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  20. "Conductors – Lera Auerbach". Archived from the original on 2019-08-10. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  21. "Clarté". Centre de documentation de la musique contemporaine (in French). 2016-05-25. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  22. "Simone Menezes: "I want to bring more audacity to the approach of classical music". Luxury Tribune. 2022-06-09. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
  23. "Metanoia (Ensemble K)". Classical Music. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
  24. "DVD/ Bluray M E T A N O I A – Simone Menezes & K | ACCENTUS Music". Retrieved 2023-01-16.
  25. "Sebastião Salgado: Amazônia in concert | Barbican". www.barbican.org.uk. 14 October 2021. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
  26. Clements, Andrew (15 October 2021). "Amazônia in concert review – bringing the sights and sounds of the Amazon to life | Classical music | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
  27. "S/Was There: Cartier Women's Initiative Celebrates 15th Anniversary in Dubai". S/ magazine. 2022-03-08. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
  28. "CARTIER - WOMEN INITIATIVE". SUPERBIEN. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
  29. "Dort, weit unten am Fluss: Simone Menezes beim Festival "Amazônia"". FAZ.NET (in German). 2024-09-17. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
  30. "So notwendig und so schön". www.fr.de (in German). 2024-09-22. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
  31. "PHOTOS". Femmes de Culture (in French). Retrieved 2024-11-20.
  32. "SCHEHERAZADE, A TALE". www.boulezsaal.de. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
  33. Vogt, Mario-Felix (2024-09-27). "Scheherazade wird zur Figur des weiblichen Widerstands". www.morgenpost.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-11-20.
  34. "« Shéhérazade » à Berlin, de l'orientalisme au féminisme". Le Point (in French). 2024-10-16. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
  35. "Album - aparté music". apartemusic.com. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
  36. Fernando Eichenberg (2019-07-08). "Como a brasileira Simone Menezes se tornou uma das poucas (e mais importantes) regentes de orquestra no mundo". Fernando Eichenberg (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  37. "Novos Universos Sonoros". Guilherme Nascimento. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  38. "Jornal da Unicamp". www.unicamp.br. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  39. Suíte Contemporânea Brasileira, retrieved 2019-08-14
  40. Ensemble K site. "Ensemble K web site".
  41. Ensemble K. "Ensemble K web site CD Metanoia".
  42. Outhere music. "Amazônia. Villa-Lobos - Glass | Outhere Music".
  43. "Album - aparté music". apartemusic.com. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
  44. Outhre music. "Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade, A Tale | Outhere Music".
External links