HAMILTON, ON – The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra is thrilled to present the final concerts of a fantastic 22-23 season! We welcome employees from orchestras across Canada to this year’s Orchestras Canada Conference, hosted here in Hamilton from May 3 to May 5. That same week, Gemma New is back with the HPO for Intimate & Immersive concert on May 4. We have our last Talk & Tea of this season on Friday, May 12 at 2pm. Our Mainstage season comes to a triumphant end with our Beethoven 5 concert on May 13.
On May 4 at 7:30pm, Gemma New conducts Intimate & Immersive: Undreaming Sleep’s Bright Land at The Cotton Factory. We open with Robert Rival’s lighthearted Scherzo for Chamber Orchestra. Next, we will hear former HPO Marketing and Communications Manager Christina Volpini’s As within, so without, which offers a moment of soft contemplation of shadows and light. Roydon Tse’s Mobilize, inspired in part by the composer’s reaction to the Hong Kong protests, illustrates ideas of resilience and unity. Musical structures are explored with Scott Good’s Variations for Chamber Orchestra before we end the evening with Adam Scime’s invigorating and psychedelic Undreaming Sleep’s Bright Land.
Orchestras Canada 2023 national conference takes place from May 3 to May 5. HPO Executive Director Kim Varian and Composer-in-Residence Abigail Richardson-Schulte will be on panels presenting the Intimate & Immersive concert series and our composer fellowship program. “We are elated to have this opportunity to share our love for and commitment to contemporary music with the national orchestral community,” says Kim Varian. “Moving orchestral music into the future by shining a spotlight on contemporary Canadian composers is a key pillar in the HPO’s mission. We are so proud to present our efforts to champion Canadian orchestral music scene, spearheaded by Gemma New and Abigail Richardson-Schulte.”
In the following week, we have our final Talk & Tea event of the season. Talk & Tea: Beethoven will be on May 12 at 2pm, instead of the usual 11am time. Abigail Richardson-Schulte will tell our guests all about the music on the next day’s concert program before they head into the concert hall for a sneak peek at rehearsals.
Lastly, we have our season-closing concert, Beethoven 5, on Saturday, May 13 at 7:30pm. The orchestra is excited to welcome former HPO Music Director James Sommerville back to conduct this Mother’s Day weekend performance. Virtuosic violinist Nikki Chooi is soloist for Mozart’s Violin Concert No. 4. We will experience the world premiere of For dappled things by 22-23 Composer Fellow Gavin Fraser. We also hear Iman Habibi’s Jeder baum spricht, written in Beethoven’s signature style. Audiences may remember Iman Habibi from his work Surge performed online by HPO Princpal Flute Leslie Newman in 2020.
The concert is anchored by Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, nicknamed the “Symphony of Fate”, anchors this performance. Known for its unmistakable short-short-short-long pattern heard throughout the work, this symphony is also being presented as this year’s educational concert on May 12, along with Iman Habibi’s Jeder baum spricht.
HPO May Event Listing:
Intimate & Immersive: Undreaming Sleep’s Bright Land
Thursday, May 4 at 7:30pm
The Cotton Factory
270 Sherman Avenue North
$35.00 General Admission (before taxes and fees)
Talk & Tea: Beethoven
Friday, May 12 at 2pm
FirstOntario Concert Hall (Stage Door)
10 MacNab St. South
$14.00 General Admission (before taxes and fees)
Beethoven 5
Saturday, May 13 at 7:30pm
FirstOntario Concert Hall
1 Summers Lane, Hamilton
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About the HPO: For over a century, the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra has presented orchestral music and education programs with a mission to enrich the wellbeing of the greater Hamilton region. Music Director Gemma New and the professional musicians of the HPO present dynamic orchestral performances ranging from standard classical repertoire to popular music and world premieres by living composers. As one of Canada’s leading professional orchestras, the HPO has proudly contributed to the shaping of Hamilton’s cultural landscape and continues to uphold values of high calibre, inclusive and accessible orchestral music and education for all.
Media Contacts:
| Varinder Nandhra Marketing and Communications Manager Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra 905.526.1677 x 209 vnandhra@hpo.org | Kyla Lacroix Bardsley Marketing and Communications Coordinator Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra 905.526.1677 x 211 klacroix@hpo.org |