Biography

Svilen Simeonov
Chief Conductor of the Sofia Sinfonietta Orchestra, Bulgaria.
Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Sofia Amadeus Orchestra, Bulgaria.
Principal Conductor of the Vidin State Sinfonietta Symphony, Bulgaria.
Chief Guest Conductor of Oltenia Philharmonic-Craiova, Romania.
Internationally renowned conductor, arranger, and teacher Svilen Simeonov has established himself as one of Bulgaria’s foremost conductors, regularly appearing as a guest conductor in the world's concert halls. Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Sofia Amadeus Orchestra since 1999, the Conductor of the Collegium Musicum Chamber orchestra- “Bankja” since 1999, the Music Manager and Conductor of the Burgas Opera & Philharmonic orchestra-society since 2000, the Principal Conductor of the Vidin State Symphony since 2001 and of the Vidin Sinfonietta orchestra since 2010. as well as a Permanent Guest a conductor of Nis Symphony in Serbia and serves as Guest Conductor at the Viennese Operetta Stage (Operetten Buhne Wien, Heinz Helberg, 2004-2006), Teatro Lirico d’Europa (since 2001), and Strauss Festival orchestra and ballet (since 2007 with EuroConcert and PromoConcert).
Maestro Svilen Simeonov teaches conducting at New Bulgarian University Sofia and the Academy of Music, Dance and Visual Arts "Prof. Asen Diamandiev" – Plovdiv.
Since 2000 Svilen Simeonov has been appointed conductor of the Sofia Sinfonietta orchestra. Since 2003 Maestro Simeonov’s appointment as Chief Conductor, of the Sofia Sinfonietta. Orchestra has been one of the most sought-after Bulgarian orchestras.
He has been awarded the Musician of the Year Prize with Sofia Amadeus orchestra (1999) by the Bulgarian National Radio, the Crystal Lyre Award (2001) with Collegium Musicum orchestra-Bankja, and the Golden Lyre Award with Sofia Sinfonietta orchestra (2007) for high artistic achievements in the performing arts. In 2023, for outstanding contribution to the field of musical culture in Bulgaria, he was awarded the most prestigious award "Crystal Necklace" of the Union of Music and Dance Performers in Bulgaria.
Born and educated in Bulgaria, Svilen Simeonov is a graduate of “Pancho Vladigerov” State Academy in Sofia, and the Academy of Music, Dance and Visual Arts "Prof. Asen Diamandiev" – Plovdiv with degrees in clarinet and conducting. He has also completed conducting studies for 4 years with Prof. Salvatore Mass Conde at the Vienna Summer Academy of Music.
Previous appointments include music manager and conducting the Opera and Symphony Society in Burgas, Bulgaria. A dedicated educator, Maestro Simeonov has taught conducting in Sofia – Bulgaria, Youngstown - State University Dana School of Music – Ohio USA. After the successful performance of the first and second Symphonies by Mahler, Maestro Simeonov will be performing all symphonies by Gustav Mahler with the Ohio Festival Orchestra in Youngstown - USA. Thiel College PA – USA, Westminster College Pennsylvania - USA, Seoul – R. Korea, Kozani, and Vlasti– Greece, Festival of the Gulf – Italy, Hanoi – Vietnam. He is often invited to run courses and masterclasses at festivals worldwide.
Maestro Simeonov has been hailed by the press for his performances and staging. “Maestro Simeonov and I had an excellent dialogue on stage. There is a great deal I admire about his conduct. The Sofia Sinfonietta is his sound: warm, flexible, full of Romanticism. He didn't merely interpret, he added himself into the score; we added dozens of tempo changes and tweaks in the orchestration to suit our collective vision of the work.” Emmanuel Sicora–Mori, pianist, and composer, after their concert.
The Bulgarian premier musical magazine Musical Horizons states: “We could feel the conductor’s suggestiveness, who managed to instill such emotional efficiency into the strings that made people hold their breath sharing the moment… …Tchaikovsky’s confession, a work of a genius, tugged at the audience’s heartstrings, who expressed its gratitude by a round of applause”.
Maestro Simeonov has performed as a guest conductor in Europe, America and Asia. He has conducted in the most prestigious halls around the world, including Berlin Philharmonic Hall, Golden Hall of Musikverein -Vienna, Concertgebouw – Amsterdam, Sofia Opera and Ballet, Bulgaria Hall – Sofia, Victoria Hall - Geneva, Ton Halle-Zurich, Hercules Hall Munih, Luzerne Art Center, Saint Galen, Winterberg Opera Hall, Smetana Hall Prague, RAI Arturo Toscanini Hall-Torino, Theater Society di Mantova, Arena di Verona, Teatro Bibiena Mantua, Auditorium Conciliazione Roma, Teatro Massimo Bellini, Anfiteatro Del Greco Antico, Palau de la Musica – Barcelona, Auditorium National de la Music – Madrid, Theater Monumental de Madrid, Teatro de Zarzuela Madrid, Teatro Alfredo Kraus Las Palmas, Theater Coliseum – Lisbon, Casa de la music-Porto, Bilkent Hall – Ankara, Levent Centre – Istanbul, Sava Centre – Belgrade, Megaron Music Hall – Athens, Megaron Music Hall – Thessaloniki, Stambaugh Auditorium USA, Festival Hall – Osaka, Aichi - ken Arts Centre – Nagoya, Stat Hall – Munich, New State Theater – Vienna, Theater am Stadtgarten – Winterthur, Philharmonics Hall – Wroclaw, the Novi Sad Opera House, Theater Auditorium-Cuenca, Fort de France Theater – Martinique, Baalbek historical site – Lebanon, Apollon Amphitheatre – Patra, Irodio Amphitheater Athens – Greece, Amphitheater Ohrid - Macedonia, Nis concert Hall – Serbia, The Red Hall in Pristina – Kosovo, Nis Concert Hall- Serbia, Oltenia Concert Hall Craiova – Romania, Patria Concert Hall, Brasov – Romania, Cyprus, Malta, Canary Islands, Martinique Island, Seoul Art Center – Korea, Bunka Kaikan Center – Tokyo, etc.
Since 1994, Maestro Simonov has been the Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Sofia Amadeus Orchestra.
Since 2000, he has been a Music Manager and Conductor of the Burgas Opera & Philharmonic Orchestra Society.
Since 1999, he has been the Principal Conductor of the Vidin State Symphony.
Since 2000 Maestro Simeonov was appointed Chief Conductor, the Sofia Sinfonietta has been one of the most sought-after Bulgarian orchestras.
Since 2017 – 2022 Maestro Simeonov was appointed Chief Conductor of Nis Symphony in Serbia.
Since 2019, Maestro Svilen Simeonov has been part of the list of artists presented by the Association for International Music and Culture Promotion, IMK.
Since 2022, Svilen Simeonov has been a Principal guest conductor of the Kosovo Philharmonic in Pristina.
From 2022 – 2025 Svilen Simeonov has been a Principal guest conductor of Oltenia Philharmony in Craiova Romania.
In addition to being an active conductor, Maestro Simeonov is also the author of more than 250 arrangements of classical works for symphonic and wind orchestras, pop and jazz songs, and plays.
In 2020, the Brotons & Mercadal publishing house officially received the rights from Maestro Simeonov to publish his arrangements.
He has released dozens of CDs at home and abroad of recordings with Sofia Sinfonietta Orchestra, Vidin State Philharmonic, Sofia Amadeus Orchestra, Nis Symphony - Serbia, and Oltenia Philharmonic - Craiova, Romania.

Maestro Simeonov has been a member of the jury of the international conducting competitions: "Nino Rota", "Serge Koussevitzky", "Robert Canetti", Orchestra’s Conductor Competition, "Corsos de Verano" and others.
Maestro Svilen Simeonov is represented and managed by several music production companies such as ABIRY Management London, Bulgarian Virtuosi Management, IMK Vienna Management, Euro Concert Geneva and Promo Concert Barcelona.
His artistry has been widely praised by critics and fellow musicians for its emotional depth, stylistic authenticity, and expressive clarity.