Award-winning musician Louis Simão has spent over 27 years as a versatile multi-instrumentalist, composing, arranging, performing, and recording across a wide range of genres. Over the course of his career, Simão has collaborated with an impressive roster of artists, including Nelly Furtado, Kiran Ahluwalia, Patricia Cano, Dominic Mancuso, Michael Occhipinti, Luis Mario Ochoa, Justin Rutledge, Guinga, Vesuvius Ensemble, Henrique Cazes, Daniela Nardi’s Espresso Manifesto, Sophie Milman, Bill McBirnie, David Buchbinder, The Shaw Festival, Tapestry New Opera Works, Eliana Cuevas, Aline Morales, and Luanda Jones, among others.
In 2025, Simão received the World Music Grand Prize and Lennon Award from The John Lennon Songwriting Contest. He previously earned recognition as the 2017 Song of the Year recipient at the International Portuguese Music Awards and was named World Solo Artist of the Year at the 2017 Canadian Folk Music Awards for his celebrated debut solo album, A Luz (The Light). His most recent work, From the Valley to the Mountain (Do Vale À Montanha) Volumes 1 & 2, a collaboration with Paris-based Brazilian multi-instrumentalist and composer Carlos Bernardo, were released in October 2024 & October 2025 respectively.
The son of Portuguese immigrants and a first-generation Canadian, Simão seamlessly blends his cultural heritage with a distinct jazz sensibility and a chamber music compositional approach, creating a sound that is both deeply personal and universally resonant. A finalist for the 2025 Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prize, Simão is also a respected music educator and clinician.
FROM THE VALLEY TO THE MOUNTAIN (DO VALE À MONTANHA) VOLUME TWO IS NOW AVAILABLE!
WELCOME! BIENVENUE! BOAS-VINDAS!
Bridging Cultures Through Sound