At the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, we are committed to supporting the next generation of musicians, composers, conductors, and audiences. Building a vibrant future for classical music depends on creating meaningful opportunities for emerging artists to develop their voices, gain professional experience, and connect with the communities they serve. 

Through artistic fellowships as part of the Centre for Musical Leadership, we support early-career artists as they navigate, grow, and thrive in the Canadian music industry. These fellowships provide mentorship, creative collaboration, and valuable on-stage experience, helping artists build the skills and networks that sustain long-term careers. 

Leo Purich

Leo Purich (b. 1998) is a Montreal-based composer and a performer on viola, violin, and piano. Their work is driven by curiosity about connections between people, sounds, and ideas, and is informed by their love of various styles of classical, jazz, and folk music. Highlights of Leo’s recent years include performing an original viola trio at the 50th International Viola Congress, as well as commissions from NYO Canada, Chœur Saint-Laurent, Sapphonix Collective, and the West Island and Mount Royal youth orchestras. Among the accolades they have received are four Young Composer Awards from the SOCAN Foundation (including first prize in the orchestral category for 2025), and the Saxophone Quartet Composition Residency at McGill for 2023-24. As a violist, Leo took part in the 2022 NYO Borealis Tour, which included performances of their commissioned work, “Canopies | Canopées.” Leo was also a participant in the Young Artist Composers program of the Tuckamore Music Festival, and the Digital Music program of the Domaine Forget Academy. Leo recently graduated from McGill University’s Schulich School of Music in both Music Theory and Composition. Previously, they obtained a Double DEC in Science and Music from Vanier College.  

Ashton Latimer

Ashton Latimer (b. 2006) is a Canadian composer from Vancouver, British Columbia, inspired by the textures and sound worlds that can be created by acoustic instruments. Through this exploration, he has begun to earn recognition through awards, competitions, and performances of his work. In 2026, Ashton was selected to participate in the Michael Nesbitt Composer Institute with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, where his orchestral work Overflow received its world premiere during the Winnipeg New Music Festival. During the festival, he was awarded Runner-up in the 2025 Emerging Canadian Music Centre Prairie Region Composer Competition and received a 2025 SOCAN Young Composer Award for Overflow. Ashton was also selected to participate in the final round of the 4th Graham Sommer Competition for Young Composers (GSC) in Montréal at the Schulich School of Music. His orchestral work Purification received a 2024 SOCAN Young Composer Award and was selected for the 2024 Hugh Davidson Composer Readings with the Victoria Symphony. In 2025, Ashton completed Overflow for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra as part of the Jean Coulthard Readings, through which he is also engaged in a six-month mentorship. In addition, Purification was a finalist in the Edmonton Pops Composer Competition, and his string quartet Ghost Ballerina won the senior category of the Langley String Quartet Competition. Alongside composing, Ashton is a dedicated French horn player. He has performed with the Vancouver Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra, the UNCSA Student Composer Orchestra, and the Fraser Valley Wind Ensemble. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Composition at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where he studies composition with Jared Miller and horn with Maria Serkin and Wyatt Gibson. 

Sointu Aalto

Sointu Aalto is a composer and cellist born in Finland in 2004 and currently based in Montreal. Her music explores the connections between mathematics, poetry, raw drama, timbral intensity, and intertextuality. Her compositions have been commissioned and performed internationally by ensembles including Kymi Sinfonietta Orchestra in Finland, UltraViolet Ensemble in Edmonton, MATA festival in New York with Bergamot Quartet, New Music Edmonton, and Continuum Contemporary Music in Toronto. She has received multiple awards for her compositions, including a SOCAN Young Composers Award in 2024. Sointu is an active cellist, as a solo performer and in ensembles. In 2024, she made her orchestral debut with the Vancouver Island Symphony, performing Dvorak’s Cello Concerto and her own new composition uni vers uni. Sointu has also collaborated with pop/rock/indie artists in recording (such as working for 1844 movie studio) and in live performance (such as on the Andy & Shani 2025 Montreal Visit). In 2022, she won the Northern Alberta Concerto Competition and performed Lutoslawski’s Cello Concerto with the Edmonton Youth Orchestra.She wrote a piano reduction of the concerto, which immediately became popular to cellists internationally through her YouTube channel. Sointu graduated from McGill University’s Schulich School of Music in Spring 2026 and will begin a Master’s at University of Ottawa in Fall 2026. At McGill, she was a resident composer of the Contemporary Music Ensemble, and her teachers were Nicole Lizee, Jean Lesage, and Matt Haimovitz. Sointu is grateful for the support of the Winspear Fund for Advanced Classical Music. 

Nic Bray

Manitoban composer and performer Nic Bray is a multifaceted musician whose practice spans composition, songwriting, and jazz saxophone performance. First finding acclaim as the winner of the 2025 Canadian Music Centre Emerging Composer Competition, his music bridges the gap between contemporary classical, jazz, and pop idioms, showcasing a versatile and inventive approach to composition. Nic completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Jazz Performance on saxophone at Brandon University in 2023, studying with Greg Gatien and completed his Master’s in Music in Composition in 2025, also at Brandon University, studying with Dr. Jason Young. Other mentors have included Michael Cain, Ella Feingold, Harry Stafylakis, Dr. Daniel Mehdizadeh, and David Braid. Nic’s recent founding of the Towers Archival Association showcases his desire to create spaces that make music accessible to all, with this organization aiming to bring public domain musical artifacts out of private collections and into public access. Through fundraising events and collaborative performances, Nic also demonstrates the potential to make a significant impact beyond the stage, using music to build stronger, more vibrant communities.

Eve Legault

Originally from Gatineau, Quebec, conductor Eve Legault is recognized for her expressive, dynamic podium presence, with recent highlights including Anything Goes at the Shaw Festival in 2025 and participation in the RBC Canadian Conductor Showcase with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. She has served as assistant or guest conductor with leading ensembles across Canada, including the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, Manitoba Opera, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra, and was Principal Conductor of the Pembroke Symphony Orchestra from 2023–2025. The first woman to conduct the Orchestre symphonique de Gatineau, she has received mentorship from internationally respected conductors and holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the Manhattan School of Music, along with numerous awards, fellowships, and grants recognizing her artistry and leadership.

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.

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.

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.