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 2024-25 Composer Fellows

Massimo Guida

Toronto-based Italian-Canadian composer, theorist, educator and copyist Massimo Guida was born in Modena, Italy, and has lived in Canada since 2008. He completed his doctoral studies in composition at the University of Toronto in 2019. Described by La Scena Musicale in 2012 as a composer who writes with “a particularly strong melodic inspiration,” Massimo seeks to combine his fondness for Italian melodic lyricism and storytelling with a contemporary musical language in his works. Massimo’s compositions and arrangements have been performed in Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy and South Korea. Massimo served as the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra New Generation Affiliate Composer during the 2020–21 season, and also took part at the Orford Music Academy in 2020. A keen supporter of contemporary music in Canada, Massimo also sat on the board of the Canadian League of Composers as an Ontario councillor between 2020 and 2022. Outside of composition, Massimo is passionate about music theory and education. He balances composing and pursuing his research interests in analysis of Italian twentieth century music by working as a copyist and as a classical guitar and music theory teacher.

Tsz Long (Fish) Yu

Tsz Long (Fish) Yu, a Toronto-based composer originally from Hong Kong holds a Bachelor of Music in Composition & Electronic Music from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Yu finished his Master of Music degree at the University of Toronto with a full scholarship under The Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence Scheme, specializing in Music Technology & Digital Media. Presently, he is undertaking his Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Toronto, majoring in Music Composition under the mentorship of Gary Kulesha and Christos Hatzis. Yu’s compositions premiered and broadcasted globally and his works exhibit a rich tapestry of musical exploration. Notably, ‘Please Don’t Open’ for Trombone and Electronics earned recognition at the 67th International Rostrum of Composers in 2021 and was Recommended in the Composers Under 30 category. Winning the Hong Kong Composers’ Guild’s Music New Generation 2020 and being commissioned for Music New Generation 2022, Yu’s accolades extend to ‘Torrent’ for Flute and Electronics, which secured the third prize at The Young Composers Competition of Isidora Žebeljan International Festival 2021 and selected to the ICMC 2023. Yu’s artistic breadth extends to collaborations with Toronto-based percussion group KöNG Duo, presenting ‘Frolic’ for Mallet Station, Marimba, Electronics, Cantonese speech and Video, captivating audiences across North America.

Meet the 2024-25 Future Award winners

Neda Samavati

Neda Samavati is an Iranian composer-guitarist based in London, Ontario. She is currently a PhD student in Music Composition at the University of Western Ontario in Canada, building on her academic journey after her MA in Music Composition from the Tehran University of Arts in Iran. She has a strong musical foundation with Diplomas in Classical Guitar Performance, Piano Performance and Ear Training. Her dedication to musical excellence is evident in her accomplishments, such as being commissioned by the NTP (The Northern Tornadoes Project) in 2023. Apart from academics, she has showcased her talent internationally, reaching the semi-finals in the 5^th Guitar Composition Competition Fidelio in Spain in 2020, and securing second place in the Annual Classical Guitar Performance of Iran. Her musical journey started at 13, guided by her father, a skilled cellist and guitarist, instilling in her a passion for improvisation and composition that laid the groundwork for her future in the music world.

Sky Yang

Sky Yang is a 16-year old composer currently based in Toronto, Ontario, and is enrolled in the Arts Unionville piano program at Unionville High School. His works have been commissioned by the Arts Unionville program and have been performed at the annual Alchemy show at Flato Markham Theatre. He received 1st prize in the 2023 Youth Music Commision composition contest of Roy Thomson and Massey Hall, and in 2022, he received 2nd prize in the Society of Composers’ Pre-College College and Mentoring Opportunity for his orchestral work, Colourful Escapade. He has also won numerous awards as a pianist and public speaker at the Kiwanis Music Festival and North York Music Festival. At school, he is a member of numerous music ensembles, including the Unionville wind ensemble, piano ensemble, guitar ensemble, jazz choir, jazz quartet, symphony orchestra, and many more. Outside of school, he is a member of the Toronto Chinese Orchestra where he plays traditional Chinese instruments, such as the erhu and suona.

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.