Simon Blendis
Simon Blendis enjoys an international career as a chamber musician, soloist and orchestral leader. He was the violinist with the Schubert Ensemble for 23 years, from 1995 until it finished in 2018. With the Ensemble he performed over 1000 concerts in over thirty different countries, recorded over twenty CDs, made frequent broadcasts for BBC Radio 3, and created an extensive library of live performances on YouTube which is still available. He now regularly collaborates as a chamber musician in festivals and with other notable artists.
Simon has been leader of the London Mozart Players since 2014 and is in constant demand as a guest leader. Last season he guest-led the LSO, RPO, Halle, Royal Northern Sinfonia and BBC Philharmonic, and guest-directed the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and the Scottish Ensemble. He has also shared the position of first concertmaster with Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa in Japan since 1999, with whom he has recorded Vivaldi’s Four Seasons for the Warner Japan label.
A keen exponent of new music, Simon has had works for solo violin written for him by, amongst others, Tansy Davies, Stuart Macrae, John Woolrich and jazz legend Dave Brubeck, and new violin concertos by David Knotts and Jeff Moore.
Simon is a professor of violin at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
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