Violinist Simone Porter has been recognized as an artist of impassioned energy, interpretive integrity, and vibrant communication. She has debuted with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Seattle and Pittsburgh Symphonies, performing under conductors including Stéphane Denève, Gustavo Dudamel, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Nicholas McGegan, Ludovic Morlot, Sir Donald Runnicles, David Robertson, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Manfred Honeck, Louis Langrée, and David Danzmayr. Raised in Seattle, she made her professional debut at age 10 with the Seattle Symphony and her international debut at 13 with London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2015, she received an Avery Fisher Career Grant.
Recent seasons include performances with orchestras such as Colorado, North Carolina, St. Louis, Oregon, Nashville, Baltimore, Hawaii, Grand Rapids, Arkansas, Omaha, Quebec, Jacksonville, Westchester, Erie Philharmonic, and Florida Orchestra. After festival appearances at Methow Valley, Bellingham, Bowdoin, Charlottesville, and Britt, her 2025/26 season opens with the Oregon Symphony, beginning her three-year term as Artist-in-Residence. In 2027, she returns to the Buffalo Philharmonic for a Florida tour under JoAnn Falletta.
Other highlights include a 2026 side-by-side project with New Century Chamber Orchestra and San Francisco Conservatory students, recital tours in Spain with pianist Pallavi Mahidhara, and debuts with Celebrity Series of Boston and NY92, both featuring a new Reena Esmail commission. A devoted chamber musician, she appears regularly at leading festivals. In February 2025 she released her first solo album, ad tendo, on Bright Shiny Things.
At the invitation of Esa-Pekka Salonen, Simone performed his Lachen verlernt at the New York Philharmonic’s Foreign Bodies. She has twice appeared at Carnegie Hall, most recently in 2024 with cellist Joshua Roman for the Well-Being Concerts. Her performance of music from Schindler’s List with Gustavo Dudamel was nationally broadcast as part of the American Film Institute’s Tribute to John Williams.
Simone Porter performs on a 1740 Carlo Bergonzi violin made in Cremona, Italy, on generous loan from The Master’s University, Santa Clarita, California.