Simon Crawford-Phillips has built a unique career as a pianist, conductor and creative programmer. Passionate about contemporary music, Simon has given world premieres by Thomas Adès, Britta Byström, Helen Grime, Steve Reich and Mark-Anthony Turnage amongst others.
He has held positions as Chief Conductor of Västerås Sinfonietta (2016-2028) and Conductor Fellow of the NDR Elbphilharmonie and in 2023 made a critically acclaimed debut with the Royal Swedish Opera conducting Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Other recent debuts include the Stockholm and Helsinki Philharmonics, Gävle and Norrköping Symphony Orchestras and Swedish and Scottish Chamber Orchestras.
As pianist in the Kungsbacka Piano Trio, Nash Ensemble, Stockholm Syndrome Ensemble, Moore/Crawford-Phillips Duo and the Colin Currie Group he has performed worldwide and made recordings for BIS, Orchid, Hyperion and Deutsche Grammophon. Upcoming releases include music by Daniel Börtz, Ravel, Sebastian Fagerlund, Djuro Zivkovic and a piano duo album of Schubert and Bach/Kurtag.
Regular collaborators include Malin Broman, Daniel Hope, Pekka Kuusisto, Anne Sofie von Otter, Lawrence Power, Torleif Thedéen, the Elias String Quartet and Academy of St.Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble. Many of these have performed with Simon in his roles as Artistic Director of the ‘Change Music Festival’ and co-director of the Wye Valley Chamber Music Festival.
An passionate pedagogue Simon is Artistic Director of the Swedish National Orchestra Academy (SNOA) at Gothenburg University, Professor in chamber music at Mälardalen University and guest professor at the Edsberg Institut.
Since 2025 Simon is co-Artistic Director of the Nash Ensemble with cellist Adrian Brendel.
