"Those who see, know, or simply work with Simone Luti, are able to appreciate, beyond his musical talent, his huge human and cultural sensitivity. These are skills which allowed him to get respect and unanimous consents wherever he has been and has worked."  LuccaMusica, September 2004.

A native of Lucca, Tuscany, orchestral conductor and pianist Simone Luti has gained recognition and acclaim for his musical instincts and sensitivity on the podium and at the keyboard. He has conducted on the podiums for such organizations as The Musical Festival in Ticino Locarno, Switzerland, the Gratchen Festival in Amsterdam, the Opera Studio Nederland, Opera National de Montpellier, in Albania at the Opera Theatre in Tirana, the Symphony Orchestra of Bacau, Romania, and the International Opera Theatre of Philadelphia (in Teatro degli Avvaloranti, Città della Pieve; Teatro Mancinelli, Orvieto; and The University of Performing Arts, Philadelphia), Orchestra London & London Symphonia,and more.

Recent engagements took him to Cremona as coach for As.li.co’s productions of Pagliacci, La Voix Humaine, The turn of the screw, Medea e Zauberflote, as chef de chant for Théâtre du Chatelet’s production of Norma, as a coach at the Opera de Montreal, for a special collaboration with the Atelier Lyrique, as a coach of Accademia Filarmonica Romana’s production of the opera For You, as musical director for American Opera Theater’s production of La Tragédie de Carmen, Dido and Eneas, Butterfly, Riders to the sea, Rigoletto, both in Italy and Baltimore, as well as numerous collaborations for recitals and concerts in Italy and abroad.

At the keyboard, Mr. Luti has performed as a solo and collaborative pianist in recitals, opera galas, and chamber groups for theatres and musical institutes throughout Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and Belgium. Of note was his debut at the Lucerne Festival playing for soprano Irina Lungu. Most recently, Mr. Luti joined the Canadian Opera Company as Assistant Conductor for their production of La Bohème (2019) and will be returning as Heach Coach and Assistant Conductor for the upcoming COC production of ll Barbiere di Siviglia (2020).

As part of his musical training, Mr. Luti studied piano with Gloria Belli, Konstantin Bogino and Fabrizio Papi while his formal studies in composition were overseen by Pietro Rigacci. To date, his compositions have been heard throughout Italy to enthusiastic audiences. It was during his compositional studies, however, that his passion for opera blossomed. Hewentontoearnacademicscholarshipstostudyopera,firstlyattheTeatro Verdi in Pisa, and afterwards in Milan at the Academy for performing Arts associated with the Teatro della Scala, getting specialized both in repertoire and music didactics related to opera house. During this time, he studied conducting with Vittorio Parisi at the Academy of Giuseppe Verdi in Milan, and at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena with Gianluigi Gelmetti.

In 2002, Mr. Luti began working as musical coach at the Teatro della Scala and the main Italian Theatres, collaborating with the most significant directors, singers, and film directors in the operatic world. He also assisted in the opera training courses carried out by Mirella Freni, Luis Alva, and Luciana Serra, devoting himself to the musical training of young opera singers.

This passion brought him to become the musical director of Canadian Operatic Arts Academy, hosted at the University of Western Ontario and its Faculty of Music, and its sister program Accademia Europea Dell’Opera, in Milan, Amsterdam and Lucca where he recently conducted Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, Così fan tutte, Don Giovanni, The turn of the screw, Le nozze di Figaro, Butterfly, La Cenerentola and Die Zauberflote, and La Finta Giardiniera. He has been also musical director of the Summer Opera Workshop of Indiana University.

He currently serves as Music Director and Conductor of both Western University’s Symphony Orchestra and Opera Program, as well as holding the position of Head Coach and piano instructor.