Simeon (Moni) Simeonov

Plovdiv-born violinist Simeon (Moni) Simeonov began to study violin at the Dobrin Petkov School of Music of Plovdiv, in the class of Darina Dankova. At the age of 16, he left for California to continue his education at Idyllwild Arts Academy. For the next few years, he was a full scholarship student at the prestigious Eastman School of Music and Yale University in the classes of Zvi Zeitlin and Ani Kavafian. In 2007, he received a proposition to undertake his Doctoral studies at the University of Southern California under the tutelage of Midori, where he also became her assistant. Concert tours and festivals have taken the violinist to Europe, the Middle East, Asia and South America, and most of the American States. He has served as a concertmaster under the batons of Kurt Massur, Valeryi Gergiev, Roberto Abado, John Williams, James Levine, Riccardo Mutti, Christoff Penderecki, Helmuth Rilling among many others. He has performed in Carnegie Hall, Disney Hall, Royce Hall, The National Auditorium in Mexico, Kitara Hall in Sapporo, Japan; Sejong Center in Seoul, Korea, as well as Bulgaria Hall. Simeon Simeonov has also performed as a chamber performer with Ensemble San Francisco, the Tokyo String Quartet, as well as with Jerome Lowenthaal, Giora Schmidt, Joseph Silverstein, Joshua Bell, Yo-Yo Ma, Zvi Zeitlin, Midori and others. His solo recordings are stored with the National Radio and TV in the United States, the California Classical Station KUSC, the Japanese NHK Broadcasting Station, as well as with the Bulgarian National Radio and TV. The violinist devotes considerable time and energy to community-based musical outreach. In the last seven seasons, he has taught and played alongside Midori on national and international tours dedicated to this activity. In 2009 Simeon Simeonov was appointed Concertmaster of the Orchestra in Sacramento, and as of 2014 has assumed the position of Head of the String Department and Professor at the University of California.