Simon Blendis enjoys an international career as a chamber musician, soloist and orchestral leader. He has been the leader of the Schubert Ensemble, Britain’s leading piano and strings ensemble, since 1995, with whom he has performed in over thirty different countries, recorded over twenty CDs of music ranging from Brahms to Judith Weir, made frequent broadcasts for BBC Radio 3 and appeared regularly at Europe’s major venues such as the Wigmore Hall in London and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. In 1999 the group won the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Award for best chamber group, for which it was shortlisted again in 2010.
Alongside his work in the Ensemble, Simon is in great demand as an orchestral leader. He has appeared as guest leader with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, the London Mozart Players, the City of London Sinfonia, and the London Sinfonietta, as well as the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa in Japan and the Basque National Orchestra in Spain.
A keen exponent of new music, Simon has given over 50 first performances, and had new pieces written for him by, amongst others, Tansy Davies, Stuart Macrae, John Woolrich and jazz legend Dave Brubeck. As a soloist he has performed and recorded with the RPO, ECO, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and the BCMG in the UK and the OEK in Japan, with whom he has recorded Vivaldi’s Four Seasons for the Warner Japan label.