About Us
About Us
The HPYO is proud to be entering our 48th season of youth music-making. Our season runs from September – June and we rehearse every Monday evening from 6:30 – 9pm at Erskine Presbyterian Church (19 Pearl St. N., Hamilton). Weekly rehearsals consist of a mix of full symphony rehearsals and sectionals with faculty from the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. Each season we perform a series of main concerts as well as multiple free community and school concerts.
The HPYO is governed by a volunteer board of directors. View our financial statements for 2010/11 here.
Click here to find information for members and alumni of the HPYO.
Our History
Founded by Glenn Mallory in 1965, the Hamilton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra has given the joy and discipline of orchestral music to hundreds of young people, and has delighted the thousands for whom they have played.
Graduates of the orchestra are involved in professional and community orchestras across Canada, in the United States and in Europe. Even those who have not followed a musical career remain enriched by a musical and social experience that offers continuing pleasure as adults.
Dr. Mallory retired in November of 2006 and was succeeded by Paul McCulloch, a cellist and conductor who is an alumnus of the orchestra.
The orchestra is comprised of young people between the ages of 14 and 23. After a successful audition, each young musician must make a year long commitment to regular rehearsals and performances. Private study is strongly encouraged.
The orchestra performs not only the standard symphonic repertoire, but also contemporary works. In addition to performing regular local concerts, the orchestra has performed as far afield as Banff, Moosonee, Carnegie Hall, New York, Huntsville, Alabama and Northampton, England.
Music Director: Colin Clarke
Colin Clarke is sought after as a conductor, clinician, adjudicator, and composer, having captured the attention of instrumental and choral ensembles, schools and music festivals across Canada and the United States. A recipient of the Clifford Evans Award for Conducting, Colin has led performances throughout Canada, the US, and Eastern Europe and has collaborated with a broad range of artists and ensembles including trumpet virtuoso Allen Vizzutti, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Ballet Jörgen, Orchestra London (Canada), the Canadian Brass, and the US Army Herald Trumpets, the official fanfare ensemble for the President of the United States.
Colin is perhaps best known as the founder and Artistic Director of the Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra, an ensemble he began as a high school student. Now in its 21st season, the multi-award winning ensemble has earned a reputation nationwide as on of the leading performance ensembles of its kind in Canada. Under Colin’s baton, the Wind Orchestra made its Carnegie Hall debut in 2006 and was invited for a return performance in 2011.
With a passion for music education and outreach, Colin maintains a commitment to working with young people and the community. In the spring of 2008, he served as conductor of the prestigious National Youth Band of Canada. He has conducted all-city bands, orchestras, and choirs across Ontario, and has led the Provincial Honour Bands of Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, and Prince Edward Island.
Board of Directors
Lynn Hutchinson – Interim President
Robert Luckhart – Treasurer
Aaron Hutchinson – Secretary
Richard Allen – Strategic & Community Development
Ben Barrett-Forrest – Orchestra Representative
Rev. Ian Sloan – Member-at-Large
Benita Tovstiga – Member-at-Large
Suzanne Waller – Member-at-Large
Administration
Diana Weir – Executive Director
Colin Clarke – Music Director
