Simone Young
(c) Nic Walker
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra has announced that the contract of Chief Conductor Simone Young has been extended by two years. Young will lead the Orchestra until the end of 2026.
Young was announced as Chief Conductor Designate in 2019 and formally took up the role of Chief Conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 2022, becoming the third Australian and first woman to hold that position.
Young was born in Sydney in 1961. Young started her operatic conducting career at the Sydney Opera House in 1985. From 1998 until 2002, Young was principal conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra in Norway.
From 2001 to 2003, Young was chief conductor of Opera Australia in Sydney.
In May 2003, she was named both chief executive of the Hamburg State Opera and chief conductor of the Philharmoniker Hamburg, posts which she assumed in 2005. She conclude her tenures with both the Hamburg State Opera and the Hamburg Philharmonic after the 2014/2015 season.
