Houston Ballet Hires New Music Director and Chief Conductor

Australian Conductor Simon Thew will assume the role, effective as of July 1, 2024

In the Fall of 2022, Simon Thew joined the Houston Ballet as an associate conductor, leading the Houston Ballet orchestra with conductor Ermanno Florio across all productions. Thew will begin his new position as of the 2024/25 season.

Beginning his music studies as a tuba player, Thew had wanted to conduct from an early age. Convincing his music conservatory to allow him to study conducting as an undergraduate (an elective not usually offered) he later earned a Master of Music Performance, majoring in conducting, from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Further studies took him to Vienna, Berlin, and Barcelona, with mentors including Sebastian Weigle, Nicolette Fraillon AM, Harry Spence Lyth, Richard Bonynge AC CBE, and John Hopkins AM OBE.  

In 2007, he became the first and only conductor to be awarded the Dame Joan Sutherland/Richard Bonynge Travel Scholarship, and until 2010, he served as assistant conductor with Opera Australia.

As a 2011 Australian Ballet Conducting Fellow, and Churchill Fellow, Thew gained experience across ballet companies, opera houses, and orchestras in London, Birmingham, Vienna, Berlin, and New York. 

A regular guest conductor with The Australian Ballet from 2013 to 2016, he served as its assistant conductor from 2017 until mid-2022. He has also worked as a guest conductor for the English National Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, and Houston Ballet 

“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Simon previously, and I know that his expertise and passion for music will undoubtedly elevate our artistic journey and deepen the connection between the dancers and the orchestra,” said Houston Ballet’s artistic director Stanton Welch. “Julie [Kent] and I look forward to having the Houston Ballet Orchestra under his baton as we enter the next era.” 

“We are a major player of world class content,” Thew expressed. “I appreciate being in a city where the arts are such a valued fabric of life and where there is also so much connection internationally. I am excited and honored to be continuing to work with this amazing company and orchestra in this new position. 

“Working with young or early career musicians is also especially important to me,” he added. “Alongside working with established instrumentalists, composers, and conductors, I hope to continue fostering in the next generation of artists that reflect the cross-culturalism of this multinational city.” 

With an over 50 year history, the Houston Ballet has toured in theaters across Dubai, London, Paris, Moscow, Spain, Montréal, Ottawa, Melbourne, New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Tokyo, and more. Additionally, its Education and Community Engagement program reaches more than 85,000 individuals in the Houston area annually, and its Houston Ballet Academy trains over 1,000 students every year, producing more than 60% of those of the organization’s current Company.