Since winning the prestigious VI. Salzburg International Mozart Composition Competition in 1995, Simone Fontanelli has been considered as one of the most authentic contemporary musical personalities. As composer and conductor, he has been invited to many international Festivals in Italy, Austria, England, Spain, Hungary, Sweden, Germany, Russia, Kazachistan, Israel, Taiwan and USA. He has always received the highest praise for his works: "I treasure his talent very highly…" (György Kurtág). “Fontanelli's music is poetically beautiful, touching” (Muzsika, Hungarian Music Magazine). His compositions are performed worldwide by greatest artists. In 2011 his children opera “Once Upon A Time There was A piece Of Wood”, after C. Collodi’s Pinocchio, commissioned by the Cologne Gürzenich-Orchester, was a great success. Since then the opera has been staged several times in Hungary, Italy, Switzerland, Spain and Austria. A CD production of it has been released in UK in 2019. In 2020 he has received a Commission from the Staatskapelle Dresden for a new work for ensemble for the Beethoven Celebration in October 2020. Mr Fontanelli is the Director of the Institut für Neue Musik of the Salzburg Mozarteum University, where he has taught since 2000. From 2003 to 2009 he was the Director of the Gamper Festival of Contemporary Music (Brunswick, ME - USA). He gives masterclasses and lectures at many important universities in Europe, Asia and America.