Simón Ramírez Ortiz is a conductor, pianist, and educator from Medellín, Colombia. He has been involved with music since early childhood. Born into a musical family, he began playing piano at the age of 5 under the instruction of Javier Franco Posada. In 2016, he gave his first piano recital under the guidance of Lise Frank. Additionally, he learned to play the violin and participated in various performances with the Instituto Musical Diego Echavarría orchestra, where he later became a teacher.
He began his university studies in piano performance with Ana María Orduz Espinal and world-acclaimed Colombian pianist Blanca Uribe Espitia (2020-2021). He has taken conducting classes with Carolina Morales, Cecilia Espinosa, and Ana María Patiño. He holds a Master's degree in Orchestral Conducting, studying with Jonathan Girard at the University of British Columbia.
Simón was appointed as music director at the Instituto Musical Diego Echavarría (Medellín) from 2022 to 2024. He conducted this ensemble in Italy, France, and the United States in collaboration with the SIMAN Orchestral Foundation. He is passionate about pedagogy and teaching. From 2020 to 2024, he worked as a teacher of piano, theory, choir, and orchestra at the same institution in his home country. Additionally, back in his native Medellín, he participated in local opera productions such as Tosca and La Traviata under the direction of Pedro Salazar and Andrés Orozco-Estrada as guest conductor with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Medellín and the “Tonos Humanos” choir.
In his free time, Simón participates and competes in high-level Ultimate Frisbee teams, locally and internationally, having represented Colombia on several occasions with the national team.