Last week, the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra announced “Hamilton’s first and only festival of new music”, What Next?  The six-event, four-concert, three-venue festival will run from January 22 to 24, and will include performances, lectures, and cross-media presentations from such composers and performers as Kelly-Marie Murphy, Samy Moussa and laptop artist Jeremy Flower. 

Highlights of the festival include: a Friday evening chamber concert with music by Bartok, Schnittke and a world premiere by John Burge performed by members of the HPO; a Saturday evening world premiere of a new piece for orchestra by Kelly-Marie Murphy; a late night electroacoustic performance by American laptop virtuoso/DJ/composer Jeremy Flower; and a lecture series called Music and Mind that explores the human response to harmony, melody, and dissonance.   Festival passes are now on sale, at a very reasonable $29/$19 for students.
 
What Next? is the creation of Music Director James Sommerville who is an advocate of new music and saw a need for a new music festival in Hamilton. “The HPO is fiercely dedicated to shining a light on living composers and helping them find their way, even as we remain true to the glory and breadth of the orchestra’s traditions and masterpieces” says Maestro Sommerville.  For more information about the festival, please visit the HPO’s website here.