Leonard Turnevicius: HPO’s 2023-2024 season includes hunt for new music director
The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra has announced their 2023-2024 season, which includes an international search for a successor to music director Gemma New who steps down next June after nine years at the helm.
As we embark on a search for a new music director, we will build on the artistic priorities and reputation we have achieved in Gemma's tenure with the HPO," stated HPO board chair Heather Beale in a media release.
A10-member search committee composed of HPO musicians, board and community members plus management spent two months reviewing each of the 115 applications from around the world for the music director post.
The music director is a very special position that requires talents as a conductor, community leader and artistic visionary for the HPO," said HPO executive director Kim Varian. To get to know these candidates, we've developed a process that includes community and board engagement, a formal interview as well as the rehearsal and guest conducting engagement. We think this is the best way for candidates to get to know the HPO and Hamilton, and for us to learn as much as possible about their interests, goals and priorities. Most importantly, we are looking for compatibility with our musicians, community and someone that can build on our artistic goals."
According to Beale, a new music director is to be announced in May 2024. However, there is a Plan B, just in case.
If we are unable to make that connection in this search we will continue to search," said Varian.
However, that highly anticipated May 2024 announcement will come far too late for the new music director to program the 2024-2025 season. So, that responsibility will largely fall on New this year.
Gemma has been very supportive throughout the search process and will participate in planning the 2024-2025 season in collaboration with our artistic advisory committee of musicians and staff," said Varian.
Seven of the HPO's nine 2023-2024 mainstage concerts in FirstOntario Concert Hall pretty much follow a template consisting of a standard repertoire piece plus a warhorse plus a Canadian work.
New opens the season on Sept. 23 with Mendelssohn's Scottish Symphony," Schumann's Piano Concerto" with Tony Siqi Yun, plus Liam Ritz's Scherzo," and closes the season on May 4 with Beethoven's Symphony No. 9," Andrew Balfour's Mamachimowin" and Claude Vivier's Lonely Child." Her other appearance is on May 1 at The Cotton Factory for the lone Intimate & Immersive concert.
According to Varian, many of the guest conductors on the season are part of the shortlist of candidates.
First up is James Kahane, originally from France though now based in Finland, who leads a program consisting of Britten's Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge," Elgar's Enigma Variations," Vaughan Williams's Oboe Concerto" with HPO principal oboe Aleh Remezau, and a work by HPO composer fellow Kathryn Knowles on Oct. 21.
American conductor Jacob Joyce guests on Nov. 11 with Dvorak's Symphony No. 7," Sibelius's Violin Concerto" with Kerson Leong, and a piece by HPO composer fellow Paul Kawabe.
A matinee concert on Dec. 9 features Panamanian-American conductor Kalena Bovell leading the HPO, the Hamilton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and the Hamilton Children's Choir in festive favourites and Abigail Richardson-Schulte's The Hockey Sweater."
The HPO will rock you on Jan. 20 with The Music of Queen." Conductor t.b.a.
On Feb. 10, American conductor Caleb Young leads a matinee concert of Mozart's Symphony No. 40," Strauss's Horn Concerto" with HPO principal French horn Jessie Brooks, and the late Spanish-Canadian composer Jose Evangelista's Airs d'Espagne."
Montreal-born Jean-Marie Zeitouni mounts the podium on March 23 for Barber's iconic Adagio for Strings," Copland's Appalachian Spring," Canadian composer Elizabeth Raum's Violin Concerto" with her daughter, Erika Raum, and T. Patrick Carrabre's Chase the Sun."
German-Polish conductor Mateusz Moleda leads Tchaikovsky's Pathetique Symphony," Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3" with Kevin Chen, and Alison Yun-Fei Jiang's Flowing Waters" on April 20.
In addition to the I&I concert, the HPO's other off-the-mainstage concerts include Handel's Messiah" with the Bach Elgar Choir under their director, Alex Cann, on Dec. 16 and 17 in Melrose United Church.
Various nine-, seven-, five- and three-mainstage concerts subscription packages for adult, senior, and 35 & Under go on sale May 25. Single tickets for mainstage events go on sale Aug. 15. Visit hpo.org for prices and info.
Saturday, May 27 at 2 p.m. in McMaster's L.R. Wilson Hall, 1280 Main St. W., David Willms and his HPYO's Philharmonic and Concert orchestras close their season with a Folklore, Fate and Fantasy" program comprised of arrangements of pieces by Holst, Mahler, Stravinsky, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Smetana, Brahms, John Williams and Howard Shore. Guest vocalist: Emily Zhang from the Hamilton Children's Choir. Tickets at hpo.org: $15.30 (all-in).
Saturday, May 27 at 6 p.m. in Collective Arts Brewing, 207 Burlington St. E., the HPO, in conjunction with Estonian Music Week 2023, are in concert alongside Hamilton-born composer-pianist Kara-Lis Coverdale, the five-piece Estonian folk music group Ansambel Triskele, and the Kirke Karja Trio consisting of Estonian pianist Kirke Karja, German bassist Felix Henkelhausen and German drummer Ludwig Wandinger. Karja will be the soloist in the Canadian premiere of her Piano Concerto." Tickets at eventbrite.ca: $54.58 (all-in). There's also a free artist talk/workshop at 11 a.m., and a free double-bill by Camie, a.k.a. Hamilton-born Camille Intson, with her producer Mike Tompa and J.K. Matthews, and Tragedy Ann, the Guelph-based folk duo of Liv Cazzola and Braden Phelan, at 4 p.m. The 8 p.m. show features Estonian singer-composer Mari Kalkun, and the Hamilton-based band, Zoon with Anishinaabe musician Daniel Monkman. Tickets at eventbrite.ca: $27.96 (all-in).
Sunday, May 28 at 3 p.m. in St. Paul's United Church, 29 Park St. W., Dundas, Laura Thomas and her Dundas Valley Orchestra close their season with Swing into Spring!" featuring clarinetist Ross Wooldridge, singer Sarena Paton, and a rhythm section of pianist Doug Mundy, Clark Johnston on bass and Kevin Dempsey on drums in big band era favourites. Free admission, donations welcome.
Leonard Turnevicius writes about classical music for The Hamilton Spectator. leonardturnevicius@gmail.com