Violist, Simon Rigaudeau studied in the Nantes Academy of Music (France) analysis, chamber music (Daniel Cuiller, Ensemble baroque Stradivaria) and composition.​

     

At fourteen, he met Jean Doussard, former conductor of the Opéra-Comique de Paris (France), who accepted to be his first conducting teacher. Then, Simon Rigaudeau conducted student orchestras and recorded three CDs on Camille Saint-Saëns programs with a professional orchestra.

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In 2004, he founded an orchestra named                                                                       (NEON Professional chamber orchestra) which he still conducts. During his conducting studies, he worked in masterclasses with Michel Plasson, Theodor Guschlbauer and Myung-Whun Chung. Curious artist, he is interested in all periods of music history. In this way, he participated to a masterclass of modern music interpretation with Henri Dutilleux.

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In 2006, after an audition, Simon Rigaudeau began a masterclass of conducting in the Strasbourg Academy of Music (France) with Kirill Karabits (Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra).

     

In the same year, he is chosen by the University of Strasbourg Orchestra (France) to be its principal conductor. Then, he was guest by the University of Dresden Orchestra (Germany) to conduct a concert with Kai Vogler, leader of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden.​
 

Simon Rigaudeau was also the youngest guest conductor of the 2006, 2007 and 2008 editions of La Folle Journée de Nantes (France) with Les Anches Atlantiques.

Between 2006 and 2010, he was the personal assistant of Kirill Karabits (Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra). Thanks to him, he attended rehearsals during this period of some excellent orchestras like the Orchestre National de Lyon (France), the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France (France), the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (Switzerland), the Radio Sinfonie Orchester Frankfurt (Germany), the Orchestre National de Lille (France),...

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He made his début at the head of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, greeted by the Strasbourg music criticism, when he conducted in May 2008 the world first of a Marco-Antonio Perez-Ramirez's work : Il y a longtemps. Since this year, in Strasbourg, he worked with some great conductors as assistant (Hans Graf, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, etc.)

 

In April 2010, Simon Rigaudeau was designated as the prize-winner of the masterclass of conducting in Strasbourg Academy of Music. In this occasion, he received the distinction "Very well" with the jury unanimity. Between 2008 and 2010, he was main conductor and artistic director of Poch'Opéra (P'Op Professional chamber orchestra in Strasbourg).

 

In Strasbourg, he had the great chance to get advices from famous conductors like Marc Albrecht (Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest et De Nederlandse Opera), Hans Graf (Houston Symphony Orchestra), Jesus-Lopez Cobos (Orquesta Sinfonica de Madrid) or Marko Letonja (Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra).

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In June 2011, after having engaged him as an assistant for the conducting of the Strauss's Alpensinfonie with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, the maestro Marc Albrecht repeated this collaboration for the Schönberg's Gürre-Lieder with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg again.

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In September 2012, the maestro Marko Letonja engaged him to be his assistant and co-conductor for a Ives/Adams concert with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg for the                                                         .

 

In September 2013, he conducted Carmen by Bizet, The magic flute by Mozart and La Bohème by Puccini in the National Opera of Rousse (Bulgaria).

In March 2014, he was assistant of maestro Benjamin Pionnier at the Théâtre Impérial de Compiègne (France) for Carmen by Bizet. In August 2014, he was assistant of maestro Benjamin Lévy for a concert at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw with Orchestre de chamber Pelléas. In april and may 2015, he made his début at the head of the Orchestre Régional de Cannes-PACA for two series of pedagogic concerts. In june 2016, he will made his début at the Théâtre Municipal de Colmar to conduct Carmen by Bizet.

 

In November 2011, he has been selected for the semi-final of Patanè International Conducting Competition in Alessandria (Italie). It will continue in 2014. In September 2013, he was selected for the Blue Danube opera conducting competition (Bulgaria). In december 2013, he was selected the Cadaquès Orchestra International Conducting Competition (Spain). In july 2014, he was invited for the audition of the recruitment of the young associate conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (United-Kingdom). Then, after a strong selection, he was one of the nine conductors invited to participate in the Mahler Philharmonic Society Conducting Masterclass (Prof. Wolfgang Scheidt) in Vienna (Austria).  In October 2014, he will participate at                                                                                        in Saint-Petersburg (Russia) after video selection. In January 2015, he was invited to participate in the masterclass of conducting with the professor Wolfgang Doerner and the Orchestre Régional de Cannes-PACA (France).