The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra will celebrate 140 years of bringing music to the city west of the GTA by opening the 2024/25 season with a new conductor, world premiere, and JUNO award-winning soloist. The season kick off concert takes place on September 21.
This season’s HPO “Musicians’ Choice” is Sibelius’ second symphony. “My second symphony is a confession of the soul,” the composer wrote. Sibelius composed his second symphony in 1901, revising it in 1903. It came after Finlandia, and struck a chord of national pride in his native country during the time of its struggle for independence from Russia.
Along with a performance of Sibelius, Symphony No. 2, pianist Philip Chiu will perform Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the HPO. The program is rounded out by the world premiere of Composer-in-residence’s Abigail Richardson-Schulte’s Team Orchestra.
The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra
The HPO has existed under several incarnations since the founding of The Hamilton Orchestral Society in 1884. The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra per se was officially established in 1949 as a largely amateur community organization, growing over the next two decades or so into a professional ensemble.
It is now one of Canada’s prominent orchestras, an organization that has spawned several chamber groups over its history, including the now famous Canadian Brass, along with other now-defunct groups such as the Czech Quartet, and Lorien Woodwind Quintet.
Kahane succeeds rising star Gemma New, who led the orchestra during a period of both growth and the pandemic struggles from 2015.
James S. Kahane
Along with his new gig as Music Director of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, (the HPO’s ninth), James S. Kahane is Principal Conductor of the Orchestre de Chambre de la Drôme. The French-born conductor was instrumental in refounding the Helsinki Chamber Orchestra, subsequently becoming its conductor as well.
As a guest conductor, he has worked with orchestras across the globe, including the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. Kahane has been the conductor of the Far(away) Ensemble since 2016. The multidisciplinary ensemble is devoted to the music of composer Jacopo Aliboni, and recorded the score for short films, including one that was featured at the Cannes Festival.
James studied at the Orchestral Conducting class of the Sibelius Academy, where he was admitted at the age of 19. From there, he worked and studied at music festivals, including the renowned Tanglewood Music Festival, and studied with a number of prominent conductors, including Paavo Järvi, Peter Eötvös, Matthias Pintscher, Sir Roger Norrington, John Storgårds, Mikko Franck, and Jorma Panula, among others.
Pianist Philip Chiu
Philip Chiu is a familiar figure to Toronto classical music audiences. He is a busy performer both as a soloist and chamber musician.
The inaugural winner of the Mécénat Musica Prix Goyer, he has performed across Canada and the US, in France and Japan. His musical collaborators are a who’s who of today’s prominent classical musicians, including virtuoso violinist James Ehnes, Regis Pasquier, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Johannes Moser, and Raphael Wallfisch, among many others. Philip often performs with violinist and Toronto Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Jonathan Crow.
As a recording artist, his work can be heard on the Warner Music, Analekta, ATMA Classique, and CBC Music labels.
HPO Composer-in-Residence Abigail Richardson-Schulte
A native of Oxford, England, composer Abigail Richardson-Schulte immigrated to Canada as a child. While she had been diagnosed with incurable deafness at age five, the difficulty hearing cleared up after the move to Canada.
Abigail won first at the prestigious UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers, which saw her music broadcast in 35 countries. Other accolades includes the CBC Karen Kieser Prize, a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Best New Opera, the Quenten Doolittle Award from New Works Calgary, the City of Hamilton Arts Award, and the Prairie Region Emerging Composer Award.
Her compositions have been performed by orchestras, at music festivals, and broadcast throughout North America. Her 2012 piece, written for the iconic Roch Carrier story “The Hockey Sweater”, a first-ever triple co-commission by the TSO, National Arts Centre Orchestra, and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, saw more than 180 performances across the country, along with several in France.
- There will be a Talk & Tea about Sibelius and Grieg, hosted by Abigail Richardson-Schulte, on September 20; details [HERE].
- Find out more details, and tickets, for the concert on September 21 in Hamilton [HERE].
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