Artistic Fellowships - Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra

Composer Fellowship

The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra Composer Fellowship program was launched in collaboration with the Ontario Region of the Canadian Music Centre in our 18-19 Season. The program is aimed at connecting early-career composers with professionals in the orchestral world to nurture and develop new skills through mentorship and the creation of a new work.

Composer Fellows participate in mentorship opportunities with Music Director James Kahane, Composer-in-Residence Abigail Richardson-Schulte, HPO musicians and staff. Each Composer Fellow also writes a new work to be premiered by the HPO.

APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2025-26 SEASON ARE NOW CLOSED.

“It continues to be a delight to work with our enthusiastic and talented HPO Composer Fellows and Future Award winners. We have created a mentorship program that doesn’t exist anywhere else in Canada. These composers are highly educated yet university programs do not cover much of what composers are expected to do in the real world. I am proud of the HPO’s commitment to the current and future voices of our country and of our ability to deliver a truly useful and inspiring program.”
– HPO Composer-in-Residence Abigail Richardson Schulte

see Past hpo Composer Fellows and their testimonials

Meet the 25-26 Composer Fellows

Mari Alice Conrad

Mari Alice Conrad is an award-winning, emerging composer in Alberta, Canada completing her doctorate in composition at the University of Alberta. She specializes in concert works for soloists, chamber ensembles, choirs, and large ensembles. Funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Mari Alice travelled to the Canadian High Arctic and Greenland (2022) in the creation of a large-scale, interactive composition project for youth exploring the effects of climate change. Her current doctoral SSHRC research-creation project examines the perception and expression of place, personal history, and the intersection of sound and geography by exploring objects, light, staging, movement, and space alongside acoustic instruments to create innovative musical contexts. Mari Alice’s compositional practice shines an exceptional light on the human condition, finding meaning in the mundane by fostering curiosity, authenticity, connection, and collaboration. Recently, her works have been performed by the Okanagan Symphony (BC), Allegra Chamber Orchestra (BC), the Vancouver Chamber Choir (BC), the BBC Singers (UK), the Canadian Chamber Choir, Standing Wave (BC), Edmonton Winds (AB and Czech Republic), University of Alberta Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble ArtChoral (Québec), Amadeus Choir (ON), Luminous Voices (AB), UltraViolet (AB), Exultate Chamber Singers (ON), The University of Alberta Madrigal Singers, and the SHHH!! Ensemble (ON).

Joseph (Sehyeok) Park

Joseph (Sehyeok) Park is a Toronto-based composer and pianist. His music takes inspiration from many different sources, such as his fascination with the French classical music tradition, as well as jazz fusion and other popular music genres. He also seeks to infuse his religious identity into his music. He is also an active concert pianist, frequently performing his own works as well as other standard concert repertoire. Joseph has been recognized as a fellow at notable festivals such as the Aspen Music Festival, Norfolk New Music Festival at Yale School of Music, and RED NOTE festival. He has also participated both as a composer and a performer at the Atlantic Music Festival and Brevard Music Center. Additionally, his music has been performed by ensembles such as Orkest de Ereprijs, Brevard Music Centre Orchestra, AMF contemporary music ensemble, Standing Wave ensemble, and various others. During these festivals, he has also worked with various notable composers such as Martin Bresnick, Christopher Theofanidis, David Dzubay, and Reiko Fueting. Additionally, he has garnered recognition from organizations like the Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI), winning the student composer award and the additional Carlos Surinach Prize. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Toronto, studying composition under Norbert Palej, Christos Hatzis, and Abigail Richardson-Schulte, and studied piano under Younggun Kim.

Meet the 25-26 Future Award winner

Kalaisan Kalaichelvan

Kalaisan Kalaichelvan’s compositional practice spans multiple disciplines, drawing from film, dance, theatre, installation and deals with themes of translation and transference. Named by Ludwig Van Toronto as one of “six emerging Canadian composers to keep an eye on” and Playback’s 10 to Watch, his music has been performed and premiered by celebrated ensembles such as Pro Coro Canada, the Dior Quartet, NMC Ensemble and featured at festivals such as Cannes Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival. He was awarded the Kathleen Morrow Award in 2024 and the SOCAN Emerging Composer Award in 2023. Kalaisan’s music is defined by its genre-bending boldness, refined classicism and musical ingenuity. Having worked across various disciplines and communities of thought, Kalaisan seeks to bring together incongruous institutions to build novel structures that reflect his artistic upbringing.

Program support provided by:

Azrieli Foundation

Conductor Fellowship

The HPO is thrilled to be a participating orchestra in the Women and Musical Leadership program led by Tapestry Opera. This program addresses a historic gender inequity on the podium by providing female and non-binary conductors active mentorship with leading conductors in the field, deep and varied experience with professional companies, and a robust artistic network. Previous HPO Music Director Gemma New is among the program’s conducting advisors.

Meet the Year 3 Cohort of Conductor Fellows

Léa Moisan-Perrier

Léa Moisan-Perrier is a Canadian symphonic and operatic conductor and the Artistic Director of Orchestre symphonique de l’Estuaire. In recent years, she has been invited to conduct numerous ensembles, including Orchestre symphonique de Laval, Orchestre classique de Montréal and Orchestre symphonique de Sherbrooke. Her career also includes collaborations as an assistant, notably alongside Jacques Lacombe at the Opéra National du Rhin in 2018, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin with Orchestre Metropolitain for the the 2024 summer season. Moisan-Perrier enjoys a successful career as a choral conductor alongside her orchestral conducting pursuits. In June 2022, she was appointed the position of Choir Director and Conductor of the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul. Moisan-Perrier completed her master’s degree in orchestra conducting at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal under Jacques Lacombe and Jean-Marie Zeitouni’s direction in the spring of 2023. Having also trained as a pianist, singer and choral conductor, she is a graduate in piano from the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, holds a Master’s Degree in choral conducting from the Université de Sherbrooke, as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in classical singing from the Université de Montréal. Moisan-Perrier is the recipient of a scholarship of excellence from the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal in 2022, the 2016 Moulin Seigneurial scholarship, and the 2017 Iwan Edwards Prize.

Monica Chen

A native of Vancouver, Monica Chen is one of the conducting fellows at the Orchestre Métropolitain, assisting Yannick Nézet-Séguin since 2021. She will be the Assistant Conductor of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra for the 2023-2024 season and one of three finalists at Domaine Forget chosen to perform in concert with the Orchestre symphonique de Québec two years in a row. Recent conducting engagements include working with Opera Kelowna, Orchestre Symphonique de Québec and the Orchestre Métropolitain. She has participated in festivals at the Eastman School of Music, Domaine Forget International Summer Academy, the UBC Chamber Music Festival, and the University of Oregon Conducting Institute, working closely with maestros Jonathan Girard, Neil Varon, Thomas Rösner, and Bramwell Tovey. She holds two Masters, one in Orchestral Conducting from UBC, studying with Dr. Jonathan Girard and the other in violin performance from Indiana University, studying with Mimi Zweig.

Kelly Lin

Kelly Lin is a Chinese-Canadian conductor who has gained recognition for her magnetic, captivating, and inspiring interpretations of a diverse range of musical genres, from classical to contemporary. As the founder and Artistic Director of Ensemble Lagom, her performances have been praised for their advocacy of under-represented voices. Kelly earned her master’s degree in orchestral conducting from McGill University, where she was the recipient of the Hnatyshyn Foundation – Christa and Franz-Paul Decker Fellowship in Conducting. She has studied under renowned mentors such as Alexis Hauser and Guillaume Bourgogne. Kelly’s reputation has led her to work with professional orchestras and ensembles across Canada and internationally, and she has performed in major music festivals such as Toronto Summer Music, Ottawa Chamberfest, and 21 Stops Music Festival. Kelly’s recent conducting engagements include concerts with Ensemble Obiora, Ensemble Lagom, Hatch Ensemble, McGill Symphony Orchestra, and McGill Contemporary Music Ensemble.

Meet the Year 2 Cohort of Conductor Fellows

Maria Fuller

Saskatchewan-born conductor Maria Fuller is a rising star on the international music scene, praised for her “fiery and dynamic” performances (The Walleye Magazine) and “subtle control, careful focus and thorough professionalism…” (Chronical Journal of Thunder Bay). Sought after as a conductor, pianist, vocal coach, trumpeter, composer and arranger, Maria brings an unparalleled energy and infectious joy to her craft on and off the podium. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano from McGill University, a Masters of Music in Piano, Artist Diploma in Operatic Coaching, and a Masters of Music in Orchestral Conducting from College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). Maria was the 2019 David Effron Conducting Fellow at the renowned Chautauqua Institute, and competed in the inaugural La Maestra International Conducting Competition in Paris in 2020.

Naomi Woo

Conductor Naomi Woo, named by CBC in 2019 as a “Top 30 Classical Musicians under 30”, is the Assistant Conductor of Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and the first-ever Music Director of Sistema Winnipeg. Born in Newfoundland and raised in North Vancouver, Naomi conducts across Canada and is noted for her work as a socially-engaged artist and educator, with appearances at the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, Regina Symphony, and the Saskatoon Symphony. An advocate for opera and new music, Naomi will lead the Canadian premiere of Du Yun’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Angel’s Bone (re:Naissance Opera) and the world premiere of Ellis Ludwig-Leone’s The Night Falls (BalletCollective, American Opera Projects). She holds degrees from Yale, Université de Montréal, and Cambridge.

Meet the Year 1 Cohort of Conductor Fellows

Jennifer Tung

Currently the artistic director of Toronto City Opera, Mississauga Children’s Choir and assistant conductor of the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra, Jennifer is also an accomplished singer and collaborative pianist. She has performed with orchestras, given recitals and has served on faculty in summer programs internationally. Jennifer debuted with the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival conducting their production of The Mikado in 2017 and has returned to conductSweeney Todd and Tragedy of Carmen. In 2019, she debuted with Opera York conducting their production of La Traviata and was the assistant conductor for Tapestry Opera and Opera on the Avalon’s joint production of the Dora award winning new opera Shanawdithit by Dean Burry and Yvette Nolan. Jennifer is on faculty at the Glenn Gould School and holds degrees in vocal performance and collaborative piano from the Eastman School of Music. She studies conducting with Denis Mastromonaco.

Juliane Gallant

Conductor, pianist, and coach Juliane Gallant has been based in the UK for the past 8 years, where she trained at the National Opera Studio and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She worked as musical director on operas such as Carmen, La bohème, Tosca, La Traviata, Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, Orphée aux enfers, and Les contes d’Hoffmann. She is an Opera Awards Foundation bursary recipient. Juliane has regularly taken part in conducting courses at the Royal Opera House, both in person and online during the pandemic, studying with Alice Farnham, Jessica Cottis, and Sian Edwards.