SIMON RIVARD

Music Director of the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra

Simon Rivard is one of the most sought-after conductors on the Canadian music scene. He is in his second season as Music Director of the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra (NSO) and Principal Conductor of The Happenstancers, one of Toronto’s leading new music ensembles.

Upcoming in the 26/27 season, Rivard makes his debut with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, and sees re-engagements with Orchestre Métropolitain, the Lapland Chamber Orchestra, and Symphony Nova Scotia. He subsequently returns to Opéra de Montréal to lead a new production of Verdi’s Rigoletto. Highlights with the NSO include leading Mahler’s First Symphony, Haendel’s Messiah, and Verdi’s La traviata.

Simon has conducted orchestras across North America and Europe, including Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Orchestre Métropolitain, Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Toronto Summer Music Festival Orchestra, Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra (Switzerland), the Göteborgs Symfoniker (Sweden), and the Lapland Chamber Orchestra (Finland). With the latter, he conducted the world premiere of Kalevi Aho’s Concerto for Erhu and Chamber Orchestra, reinforcing his commitment to contemporary music through performances of works by Claude Vivier, Unsuk Chin, Steve Reich, Matthew Ricketts, and Nahre Sol. He has also had the pleasure of collaborating with artists such as Barbara Hannigan, Kerson Leong, Daniel Lozakovich, Matt Haimovitz, Charles Richard-Hamelin, and Julie Boulianne, among others.

Operatic repertoire remains central to Simon’s artistic focus. His credits includes Puccini’s La bohème and Tosca; Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Le nozze di Figaro; Strauss’ Die Fledermaus; Wagner’s Das Rheingold and Siegfried; and Bizet’s Carmen. He served, for three seasons, as Edmonton Opera’s inaugural music director, and led several multidisciplinary and innovative productions, including the award-winning English adaptation of Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle, directed by Daisy Evans. He made his Opéra de Montréal podium debut with La bohème to much acclaim in the 24/25 season.

He has collaborated with artists such as Barbara Hannigan, Kerson Leong, Daniel Lozakovich, Matt Haimovitz, Charles Richard-Hamelin, and Julie Boulianne, among others. In 2022, he was a finalist of the Princess Astrid International Music Competition of the Trondheim Symfoniorkester (Norway). As of September 2025, he will teach Orchestral conducting at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal.

July 2026
Not to be altered or copied without permission.

  • From 2018 to 2022, he was the Resident Conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, where he was mentored by Gustavo Gimeno and Sir Andrew Davis. He has ​​assisted and been a cover conductor for world-class artists such as Gianandra Noseda, Sir Donald Runnicles, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, John Storgårds, Barbara Hannigan, and Eun-sun Kim. From 2018 through 2024, he was the Conductor of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra. Between 2020 and 2022, he served as the Associate Conductor of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir.

    He is an alumni of Equilibrium Young Artists (2019-2023), Barbara Hannigan's mentorship program for early-career professional musicians. In 2018, he was invited to participate in the first Conducting Mentorship Program at the Verbier Festival Academy (Switzerland). In addition to receiving a Special Prize, he was subsequently reinvited to coach the 2022 Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra. 

    Born in Montréal, Rivard studied violin performance and orchestral conducting at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal and McGill University. He has been mentored by Raffi Armenian, Alexis Hauser, Guillaume Bourgogne, and Jean-Sébastien Vallée, among others. 

Dean Artists represents Simon Rivard worldwide.

Morgan Reid
Managing Director & Artist Manager
morgan@deanartists.com

CONTACT

Loren Graziano
Associate Artist Manager
loren@deanartists.com

LINKS

Website
YouTube

“Rivard is a truly inspired conductor who is in command of his musicians. He takes beautiful care of articulation and architecture.”

— Le Devoir

More video selections are available upon request.

  • Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (Gabriel Fournier, 2023)

  • Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, 2026.

  • Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, 2024.

  • Edmonton Opera's Siegfried, 2026.

  • Orchestre classique de Montréal, Brent Callis (2022)

  • Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (Gabriel Fournier, 2023)

  • Orchestre symphonique de Laval (2024)

  • Toronto Summer Music Festival (Lucky Tang, 2024)

  • Edmonton Opera's Bluebeard's Castle, 2025.