HAMILTON, ON, December 18, 2025 — Brighten up the darkest season with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra’s (HPO) first concert of the new year, Monomyth: The Hero’s Journey on Saturday, January 17 at FirstOntario Concert Hall. Guest conductor Alondra de la Parra will lead the orchestra through Grazyna Bacewicz’s energetic Overture for Orchestra, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 featuring soloist Thomas Enhco and Beethoven’s revolutionary Third Symphony, a work that redefined symphonies forever.
“We love to kick off the new year with a matinée concert and this year we highlight music by some of history’s most beloved composers,” says Executive Director Kim Varian. “After this performance of Beethoven, Mozart and Bacewicz, the audience will leave the concert hall uplifted and inspired with time left to spend the evening out on the town or head home before nightfall.”
The afternoon begins with Bacewicz’s neoclassical Overture, a defiantly optimistic work secretly composed in occupied Warsaw in 1943. Next, jazz and classical virtuoso Thomas Enhco takes center stage for Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21, one of the composer’s most technically demanding and lyrical works for piano. A child prodigy who recorded his first album at only 11 years old, Enhco has the emotional range and storytelling sensibility to deliver an unforgettable performance.
What better way to end an afternoon at the orchestra than with a Beethoven Symphony? His third, “Eroica”, is widely considered as the first Romantic Era symphony, dismissing the classical form and symphonic structure of his time in favour of unbridled self-expression. The result is a moving masterpiece that transports listeners through a vast spectrum of human experience, a hero’s powerful journey from despair to triumph.
To learn more about the music on this program, concertgoers are encouraged to join HPO Composer-in-Residence Abigail Richardson-Schulte at 6:30PM in the concert hall for a Pre-Concert Talk. Music lovers can also attend Talk & Tea: The Classics on Friday, January 16 at 11AM for a fascinating music history deep dive and an exclusive HPO rehearsal experience.
Monomyth: The Hero’s Journey
January 17, 2026 at 3pm
FirstOntario Concert Hall
1 Summers Ln, Hamilton, ON, L8P 4Y2
Tickets on sale at hpo.org
About the HPO: For 140 years, the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra has presented orchestral music and education programs with a mission to enrich the wellbeing of the greater Hamilton region. The HPO presents 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.
HPO Media Contact:
Megan Nourse
Marketing & Strategic Initiatives Manager
289-216-8273
mnourse@hpo.org