Simon Thew is named Houston Ballet’s new Music Director

Houston Ballet has appointed current Associate Conductor Simon Thew as the company’s next Music Director and Chief Conductor, effective July 1, 2024. He will succeed longtime Music Director Ermanno Florio, who is stepping down at the end of the 2023-2024 season after 32 years in the role. 

While Thew joined Houston Ballet in the 2022-2023 season as the company’s first official Associate Conductor, he was first introduced to Artistic Director Stanton Welch in 2016 during the company’s Australian tour of Welch’s Romeo and Juliet. Thew, accompanied by Orchestra Victoria, joined Ermanno Florio as a guest conductor, marking the start of his working relationship with 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 Welch in a statement.

“Julie [Kent, co-Artistic Director] and I look forward to having the Houston Ballet Orchestra under his baton as we enter the next era,” Welch said.

Before working with Houston Ballet, Thew was a regular conductor with The Australian Ballet between 2013 and 2016. He also served as The Australian Ballet’s assistant conductor from 2017 to mid-2022. In addition, he has guest conducted the English National Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet.

Earning a Master of Music Performance, with a major in conducting, from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Thew worked with The Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra (now Opera Australia Orchestra) shortly after graduation—an experience that was “instrumental in his falling in love with dance as an art form, and its relationship with music,” according to a press release. His early musical journey began as a tuba player.

“I appreciate being in [Houston] 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,” said Thew in a statement.

“Working with young or early career musicians is also especially important to me,” he said. “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.”

Houston Ballet will announce a search for a new Associate Conductor at a later date.