James Sommerville
As a conductor, French Horn soloist, and orchestral musician, James Sommerville’s multi-faceted career has graced the greatest stages of Canada and the world. He led the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra to great critical acclaim in his seven seasons as Music Director, and conducts regularly around the globe. Recent appearances include the Okanagan, Fort Wayne, Toronto, London (Ontario) and Québec Symphony Orchestras. Internationally, Mr Sommerville has been conductor of the US National Brass Ensemble in concert and on their award-winning CD of music of Gabrieli and John Williams.
James Sommerville retired as Principal Horn of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 2022, after a glittering 25 year tenure, capping an orchestral career that included seasons with the Toronto and Montreal Symphony Orchestras, the COC Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. The winner of the highest prizes at the Munich, Toulon and CBC solo competitions, Mr. Sommerville also pursued a glittering career as a soloist, and has brought immensely successful appearances with major orchestras throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. His disc of the Mozart Horn Concertos with the CBC Vancouver Orchestra won the JUNO Award for Best Classical Recording in Canada. He is heard regularly on the CBC network and has recorded all of the standard solo horn repertoire for broadcast. He has commissioned and premiered works from many young Canadian and international composers, including Kati Agócs, Vivian Fung, Nicole Lizée, Kelly-Marie Murphy, Abigail Richardson-Schulte, Christos Hatzis, and Eliott Carter.
Mr. Sommerville is currently Artistic Advisor to the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and the Windsor Symphony Orchestra.
Featured Performances
