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“Porter commands the technical chops, throbbing vibrato but, most importantly, the expressive panache, needed to bring the music’s rhapsodic lyricism to life; she did so with absolute sincerity and not a whiff of gloppy sentiment.”

Chicago Classical Review

“Morlot had a future star to work with in violinist Simone Porter…Wait: let’s strike the world ‘Future.’ She sounds ready. Now.”

Los Angeles Times

“Porter displayed a smooth, well-focused and unforced tone of considerable sweetness and warmth in Thursday’s concert. Her phrasing is clear and beautifully finished; the intonation is reliable […], and her interpretation is mature and confident. Clearly this is an artist ready for the big leagues.”

The Seattle Times

“Our violin soloist, Simone Porter, is a rising star, and one can see why. Her silvery tone is gorgeous, and she can overcome any technical hurdles thrown her way, of which the Korngold has several. She plays with uncommon passion and involvement in the music, and seems to enjoy what she’s doing; when not playing she would bask in the orchestral richness behind her.”

Grunion

“If you wish to know what Simone Porter can do on the violin, the answer is simple: whatever she wants. An utterly perfect technique allows her to take on passages of the most hair-raising difficulty with complete poise and relaxation. Her right-arm technique, in particular, enables her to achieve quicksilver changes in color, and to spin out long legato phrases without the hint of a break.”

The Spokesman-Review

“Simone Porter’s Celebrity Series debut at Pickman Hall Wednesday night proved revelatory on two fronts. The violinist’s bracing accounts of mostly 21st-century works confirmed the good reasons for her quick rise to fame. And a world premiere by composer Reena Esmail proved a remarkable discovery. Each has established a unique voice at a relatively young age. Porter continues to earn acclaim for her silver-toned virtuosity and probing interpretations.”

Boston Classical Review

“She is quite simply marvelous. She reminded me most of all of the young Yehudi Menuhin — the same kind of remarkable golden tones and vibrant smoothness, the huge sound, the sense that any technical virtuoso challenges are a figment of the imagination, the seemingly fearless ease of the whole thing. Like Menuhin, she has the energy, the invigoration of youth, but a maturity of emotional expression beyond her years.”

Edmonton Journal

“In her SLSO debut, soloist Simone Porter proved to be a most persuasive interpreter of Bruch’s sentimental and appealing work. Fully engaged with both the conductor and the orchestra, Porter played with rich warmth in the lyrical first and third movements.”

KDHX

Violinist Simone Porter has been recognized as an emerging artist of impassioned energy, interpretive integrity, and vibrant communication. She has debuted with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Seattle and Pittsburgh Symphonies and with a number of renowned conductors, including Stéphane Denève, Gustavo Dudamel, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Nicholas McGegan, Ludovic Morlot, Donald Runnicles, David Robertson, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Manfred Honeck, Louis Langrée and David Danzmayr. Simone made her professional solo debut at age 10 with the Seattle Symphony and her international debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London at age 13. In March 2015, Simone was named a recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant.

Porter’s recent seasons include extensive US touring with debuts and return visits to orchestras such as Colorado, North Carolina, St. Louis, Oregon, Hawaii, Grand Rapids, Omaha, Quebec, Jacksonville symphonies, Erie Philharmonic, Florida Orchestra and many more. In 24/25 season Porter will return to Nashville and Baltimore symphonies, as well as Santa Rosa, Monterey and Westchester symphonies with a debut with Arkansas Symphony performing Glass’ 1st violin concerto and a visit to Johnson City Symphony in TN. Internationally, Simone has performed with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra with  Gustavo Dudamel; the Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira in Rio de Janeiro; the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica; the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong; the Royal Northern Sinfonia; the Milton Keynes City Orchestra in the United Kingdom; Orquesta Clasica Santa Cecilia de la Fundacion Excelentia in Madrid; the Opera de Marseille and at the Edinburgh Festival performing Barber under the direction of Stéphane Denève,

Recent recital highlights include a tour in Spain with pianist Pallavi Mahidhara and debuts at Celebrity Series in Boston and NY92, both of which featured the newly commissioned piece by composer Reena Esmail. She will return to FL in recital in January of 2025. An avid chamber musician, Porter can be heard at La Jolla Summerfest in August of 2024, followed by projects with Bay Chamber Music, Moab Music Festival and Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival. Together with her colleagues violinist Blake Pouliot and pianist Hsin-I Huang, Porter will present a program at Cliburn Foundation in Fort Worth, TX and Broad Stage in Santa Monica, CA in spring of 2025.

At the invitation of Esa-Pekka Salonen, Simone performed his work ‘Lachen verlernt’ (‘Laughing Unlearnt’), at the New York Philharmonic’s “Foreign Bodies,” a multi-sensory celebration of the work of the composer and conductor. Simone made her Carnegie Zankel Hall debut on the Emmy Award-winning TV show From the Top: Live from Carnegie Hall followed in November 2016 by her debut in Stern Auditorium. She will return to Carnegie in December of 2024 together with cellist Joshua Roman as a part of their Well-Being Concert. In June 2016, her featured performance of music from Schindler’s List with Maestro Gustavo Dudamel and members of the American Youth Symphony was broadcast nationally on the TNT Network as part of the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award: A Tribute to John Williams.

Raised in Seattle, Washington, Simone studied with Margaret Pressley as a recipient of the Dorothy Richard Starling Scholarship, and was then admitted into the studio of the renowned pedagogue Robert Lipsett, with whom she studied at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles. Summer studies have included many years at the Aspen Music Festival, Indiana University’s Summer String Academy, and the Schlern International Music Festival in Italy.

Simone Porter performs on a 1740 Carlo Bergonzi violin made in Cremona Italy on generous loan from The Master’s University, Santa Clarita, California.

JUNE 2024