Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra Appoints New Music Director

The Canadian conductor Simon Rivard will assume the role as of next season

Canada’s Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra (NSO) has welcomed Simon Rivard as its incoming music director for the 2025/26 concert season. Rivard has also been music director of the Edmonton Opera since 2023.  

Hailing from Montréal, Rivard studied violin performance and conducting at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal and McGill University. His mentors have included Raffi Armenian, Alexis Hauser, Guillaume Bourgogne, Jean-Sébastien Vallée, and others.

He has since led the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Opéra de Montréal, Orchestre Métropolitain, Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, and the Göteborgs Symfoniker. Among his collaborators include Kerson Leong, Daniel Lozakovich, Matt Haimovitz, Charles Richard-Hamelin, and Julie Boulianne. 

From 2018 to 2022, he was the resident conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, plus worked as a cover conductor for Gianandra Noseda, Sir Donald Runnicles, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, John Storgårds, Barbara Hannigan, and Eun-sun Kim. 

More roles have included leading the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra and being associate conductor of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir.

His upcoming projects include engagements with the Lapland Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, and Orchestre Métropolitain, among others. 

Rivard will be joining the NSO as it launches its 2025/26 season on June 26, 2025. 

“We are so delighted with the outcome of this search, and the level of engagement we have seen with our musicians and our community over the past 18-months,” said NSO CEO Hugh Donnan. “We feel that Simon will bring exceptional artistic leadership to the NSO, and continue the development and professionalization of the orchestra as we strive to take our place among the leading orchestras in Canada.”

“It is an honour to have been chosen by my colleagues of the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra to lead them into this exciting new chapter of their artistic life,” Rivard added. “I look forward to continuing to build on the tremendous achievements of my predecessor, Maestro Marc David. In the coming years, we will pull all the stops to develop the unique musical voice of the NSO and share this voice with as many members of our community, across all ages and backgrounds.”