Artist in Residence: Simone Baron

Simone Baron improvises, interprets, experiments, and arranges her way through classical, chamber jazz, and global music on the accordion and piano. Baron studied piano and conducting at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Tel Aviv University’s Buchmann School of Music, and has performed throughout Europe, Israel, and North America. Her unique voice and re-imagination of the accordion’s possibilities have opened the door to cross-genre collaborations with dancers, actors, puppeteers, visual, and performance artists. Arco Belo, Baron’s current project with fellow AIR Ethan Foote, is a hybrid chamber jazz sextet with strings and percussion that features original compositions and innovative arrangements of works from different musical traditions.

• Baron was recently an artist in residence north of the border at Banff Arts Centre in Alberta, Canada, exploring the intersections of music, visual, and performance art.
• As a conductor, Baron has put together chamber orchestras to perform works by celebrated composers including Beethoven, Debussy, and Schoenberg and occasionally presents accompanying musicology papers and talks.
• A seasoned performer, Baron has appeared at Carnegie Hall and at prestigious DC venues including the Kennedy Center, World Bank, and the Hirshhorn Museum.