Simon Hewett
Queensland Youth Symphony
Simon Hewett is the QYO Director of Music and Conductor of the Queensland Youth Symphony. After completing a Bachelor of Music at the University of Queensland (First Class Honours and a University Medal), Simon received a German Government Scholarship and finished his studies in conducting at the Hochschule für Musik ‘Franz Liszt’ in Weimar, Germany. He made his debut with Opera Australia at the Sydney Opera House in 2003, returning in subsequent years to perform a wide range of operas with OA. In 2012 Simon was awarded a Green Room Award for Best Conductor of an Opera.
In 2005 Simon was appointed Kapellmeister and Assistant Music Director to the Hamburg State Opera. He was Principal Conductor of the Stuttgart Opera from 2011 to 2016, and has appeared as a regular guest conductor at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Paris Opera and Vienna State Opera.
Simon was appointed Principal Conductor of the Hamburg Ballet in 2008, and he continues to perform regularly with the Hamburg Ballet at the Hamburg State Opera, and on tour at the Salzburg Festival, the Spoleto Festival, the Baden Baden Festspielhaus, in the USA, Japan, Hong Kong, Moscow and Australia. Alongside his commitments with QYO, Simon continues to perform internationally as a guest conductor, most recently at La Scala, Milan, the Semperoper Dresden, the Hamburg State Opera, and with the Korean National Ballet.