24 Facts About Simone Young

1.

Simone Margaret Young AM was born on 2 March 1961 and is an Australian conductor.

2.

Simone Young is currently chief conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

3.

Simone Young was educated at the Monte Sant'Angelo Mercy College in North Sydney.

4.

Simone Young studied composition, piano and conducting at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

5.

Simone Young started her operatic conducting career at the Sydney Opera House in 1985.

6.

Simone Young received an Australia Council grant to study overseas, and was named Young Australian of the Year.

7.

From 1998 until 2002, Simone Young was principal conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra in Norway.

8.

From 2001 to 2003, Simone Young was chief conductor of Opera Australia in Sydney.

9.

Simone Young's contract was not renewed after 2003, with one given reason being the excessive expense of her programming ideas.

10.

Simone Young made her first conducting appearance at the Hamburg State Opera in 1996.

11.

Simone Young was the first female conductor at the Vienna State Opera in 1993.

12.

Simone Young conducted the Sydney Symphony Orchestra when they performed Elena Kats-Chernin's "Deep Sea Dreaming" at the 2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in Sydney.

13.

Simone Young's discography includes the complete symphonies of Anton Bruckner and the complete Ring Cycle of Richard Wagner, where she was the first female conductor to have recorded either of these cycles.

14.

Simone Young has recorded the complete cycle of Brahms' symphonies.

15.

In 2022, Simone Young was that magazine's critic's choice as Australian Artist of the Year.

16.

In March 2016, Simone Young was appointed a member of the board of the Europaische Musiktheater-Akademie.

17.

Simone Young had first guest-conducted the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 1996.

18.

Simone Young is the first female conductor to be named chief conductor of the SSO.

19.

Simone Young is married to Greg Condon, and has two daughters.

20.

Simone Young made her first appearance at the Metropolitan Opera while she was five months pregnant and conducted at the Vienna State Opera one month prior to giving birth in 1997.

21.

Simone Young has received honorary doctorates from the universities of New South Wales, Sydney and Melbourne.

22.

Simone Young has been appointed a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres of France.

23.

On 26 January 2004, in the Australia Day Honours, Simone Young was named a Member of the Order of Australia "for service to the arts as a conductor with major opera companies and orchestras in Australia and internationally".

24.

In 2021 Simone Young was named the Advance Awards Global Icon.