Menezes has conducted orchestras such as the Munich Philharmonic, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Santa Cecilia Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, National Symphonic Orchestra of Brazil, Orchestre national  d’Île-de-France, Orchestre de l’Opéra national de Lorraine, Orquestra Sinfônica Nacional, and Osaka Symphony Orchestra, and at the Philharmonie de Paris. She has recorded two albums and premiered over 20 works. Her latest critically acclaimed album, Metanoia, was released in February 2022.  

The 2022/23 season saw Simone conduct performances with the Brussels Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Bordeaux Aquitaine, Orchestre de Douai, and the Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen. With Ensemble K, Simone performs in Paris, Venice, London, Lille and Brest. She also conducts a recording of Ravel’s piano concertos with the Philharmonia Orchestra. 

At the age of 20, Menezes formed her first orchestra in Brazil, the Camerata Latino Americana, a group specializing in the interpretation of Latin American repertoire. The work and model of this groundbreaking ensemble received recognition from the International Society for the Performing Arts of New York.  

Simone Menezes studied conducting in Brazil, then at the École Normale de Musique in Paris, where she graduated after only one year of study. Her mentors include Paavo Järvi, Neeme Järvi, Leonid Grin, Marin Alsop, Claudio Cruz, Thomas Adès, and Lera Auerbach. In 2019, Simone Menezes won second prize at Mawoma (Music and Women Maestra Festival) in Vienna. In 2020, she launched her orchestra Ensemble K, a flexible ensemble specializing in the larger chamber repertoire of the 20th century.