{"id":123574,"date":"2026-04-21T15:56:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T19:56:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=123574"},"modified":"2026-04-21T15:56:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T19:56:28","slug":"preview-hamilton-international-contemporary-music-festival-spring-concert-showcase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2026\/04\/21\/preview-hamilton-international-contemporary-music-festival-spring-concert-showcase\/","title":{"rendered":"PREVIEW | The Hamilton International Contemporary Music Festival Spring Concert Showcase"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_123576\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-123576\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-123576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/Copy-of-PREVIEW-2026-04-21T155411.183.jpg\" alt=\"Composer and flutist Chikako Iversen (Photo courtesy of the artist)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/Copy-of-PREVIEW-2026-04-21T155411.183.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/Copy-of-PREVIEW-2026-04-21T155411.183-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/Copy-of-PREVIEW-2026-04-21T155411.183-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/Copy-of-PREVIEW-2026-04-21T155411.183-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-123576\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Composer and flutist Chikako Iversen (Photo courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Hamilton International Contemporary Music Festival (HICMF) takes place on April 26, 2026, and featuring international premieres in a showcase of new voices in contemporary music. The ambitious program celebrates international collaborations, and the power of contemporary music to connect both audiences and artists across borders.<\/p>\n<p>HICMF was founded by award-winning composer and flutist <strong>Chikako Iversen<\/strong> and co-produced with <strong>Stephen Morris<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Born in Japan, Iversen recently relocated to Hamilton. \u201cMy living location has changed, and this is the only way that I know how to live: keep creating, composing and playing,\u201d says Iversen in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>Morris first discovered Iversen\u2019s work at a festival in Japan. After connecting, the duo began the work of creating a Canadian version of the version. Their inaugural concert took place in February 2025. They\u2019ve since added Artistic Adviser <strong>David J<\/strong><span style=\"font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;\"><strong>aege<\/strong>r and Musical Adviser <\/span><strong style=\"font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;\">Bob Becker<\/strong><span style=\"font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;\"> to their team.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>The Program<\/h3>\n<p>Both established and emerging composers are featured in the program for April 26, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Weaving \u2014 Chikage Imai<\/li>\n<li>Verde Malachite \u2014 Chikako Iversen<\/li>\n<li>Entrance \u2014 Stephen Morris<\/li>\n<li>Dark Night Above the Woods \u2014 Michael Blazek<\/li>\n<li>Sequenza VIIb \u2014 Luciano Berio<\/li>\n<li>Two Tigers \u2014 David Jaeger<\/li>\n<li>The Machine, The Heart \u2014 Boya Liu<\/li>\n<li>Turbulence \u2014 Tianci Lu<\/li>\n<li>A Vertical Dream \u2014 Mehrdad Jafari Raad<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Lu, Liu, and Jafari Raad were selected through HICMF\u2019s 2025 call for scores, representing a new generation of composers. Last year\u2019s finalist, Michael Blazek, is also featured in the program, along with a special performance of Artistic Adviser David Jaeger\u2019s Two Tigers for marimba and flute.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe colour of the sound and space to breathe is how I proceed. It is sensitive and dynamic,\u201d says Chikako. Her own approach to composition is i nspired by Toru Takemitsuj, and others, and performers like John Fonville. She considers sound as an emotional, spatial, and transformative experience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat excites me is everything,\u201d says Iversen. \u201cThe fabulous musicians and the beautiful compositions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The HICMF Ensemble is:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Katie Kirkpatrick, flute<\/li>\n<li>Kailan Fournier, clarinet<\/li>\n<li>Christopher Jones, saxophone<\/li>\n<li>Diane Dahyeon Kim, violin<\/li>\n<li>Veronica Zupanic, violin<\/li>\n<li>Marlena Pellegrino, violin, viola<\/li>\n<li>Chloe Liang, cello<\/li>\n<li>Nikki Huang, percussion<\/li>\n<li>Bevis Ng, percussion<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Concert Details<\/h2>\n<p>The concert takes place at The Gas Works in Hamilton, ON (141 Park Street North).<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Concert details available [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hicmfontario.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/li>\n<li>Tickets available [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tixtree.com\/e\/hicmf-26-spring-concert-84a89b3df5b0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>Are you looking to promote an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/advertising\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #0e101a;\"><u>event<\/u><\/span><\/a>? Have a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/masthead\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>news tip<\/u><\/a>? Need to know the best\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/events\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>events<\/u><\/a>\u00a0happening this weekend? Send us a\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><a href=\"mailto:anya@ludwig-van.com?subject=Let's%20chat\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><em><u>note<\/u>.<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><em><b>#LUDWIGVAN<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n<p class=\"western\"><em>Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><em>Sign up for the Ludwig Van Toronto e-Blast! \u2014 local classical music and opera news straight to your inbox <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/583e6ce0-dfd0-48be-8a33-61256b3c58e3.mlbtlr.com\/p2\/Fbd8jWoWQQ6CdBcLIvut3Q\/02E3cYaETqaj4Xm087cpSg?contactid=S3HHYfHY5rZv5f94S15MnA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/583e6ce0-dfd0-48be-8a33-61256b3c58e3.mlbtlr.com\/p2\/Fbd8jWoWQQ6CdBcLIvut3Q\/02E3cYaETqaj4Xm087cpSg?contactid%3DS3HHYfHY5rZv5f94S15MnA&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1695737525351000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0QTqKRwRJQFGK3KoJYigxX\">HERE<\/a>.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Hamilton International Contemporary Music Festival (HICMF) takes place on April 26, 2026, and featuring international premieres in a showcase of new voices in contemporary music. The ambitious program celebrates international collaborations, and the power of contemporary music to connect both audiences and artists across borders. HICMF was founded by award-winning composer and flutist Chikako [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":123576,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[42533,10,18,19,6992,38,3693,4557,63],"tags":[42824,6238,42825],"yst_prominent_words":[34939,9426],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/Copy-of-PREVIEW-2026-04-21T155411.183.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-w98","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123574"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123574"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123574\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":123577,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123574\/revisions\/123577"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123574"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=123574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}