The Sydney Symphony Orchestra has announced that Simone Young will become Chief Conductor in 2022 – the third Australian to hold the post, and the first woman.
Born in Sydney, Young has forged a stellar international career across both operatic and symphonic repertoire. For ten years she was Artistic Director of the Hamburg State Opera and Music Director of the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra, and she was Chief Conductor of Opera Australia from 2001 to 2003. Many will remember her as conductor of the SSO at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games opening ceremony, and she has received critical acclaim particularly for her interpretations of Strauss and Wagner. She has given high-profile performances with the Berlin, Vienna and London Philharmonic Orchestras, and at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
Young’s debut as the SSO’s Chief Conductor in 2022 will coincide with the reopening of the Sydney Opera House’s Concert Hall, the orchestra’s home since 1973. While the Concert Hall is being refurbished, the orchestra will return to their original home of Sydney Town Hall for two years.
Young’s contract with the orchestra runs for an initial three-year term, during which time she will conduct the SSO for eight weeks each year alongside her continuing diary of performance engagements in Europe and the US. She takes over from American David Robertson, and follows in the footsteps of the two SSO’s two other previous Australian-born Chief Conductors, Sir Charles Mackerras (1982-1985) and Stuart Challender (1987-1991).
Commenting on her appointment, Young said “I am thrilled to take up this role with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. As an orchestra, it is amongst the world’s finest. Since my first appearances with the Sydney Symphony 23 years ago, I have witnessed its extraordinary artistic growth. It’s a virtuosic ensemble and it is an orchestra of which every Australian can be proud.”
“It is an orchestra I know and love. I grew up with the Sydney Symphony and its performances provided me with a rich experience of music which I was able to take with me from my high school days to the moment I first stepped on a podium. The orchestra continues to inspire me.”