Benjamin Hamilton

Benjamin-Hamilton
Benjamin Hamilton

My aim is to bring high-quality musical experiences to all, as audience members and performers.  Music holds an incredible power: to move, explain and inspire – especially important in our now changed world.  The desire to introduce that power to those who might not otherwise encounter it is the thread that ties together my diverse career in conducting, translating and artistic leadership.

I read for a PhD at the University of Warwick and since then have initiated and led a wide range of artistic projects as a conductor, translator and artistic lead.  As a conductor, I am fortunate to have trained under international conductors Paul McGrath and Toby Purser (Royal College of Music) and to be mentored by Mark Heron (Royal Northern College of Music).

My work in opera – 22 in total spanning the repertory from Monteverdi to the present – allows me to indulge my passion for immediately accessible translations: most recently a grime-inspired Die Fledermaus (Bat Out of Hackney) for Hackney Empire; an ‘Oxford Don’ Don Giovanni for Hampstead Garden Opera; and a more traditional Carmen for Warwick Arts Centre.

I act as musical director for several amateur choirs, spanning the spectrum of genres and previous experiences: from the Cheshire Fire Choir (a 16-strong modern music choir from Gareth Malone’s Sing Whilst You Work) to Hampton Singers (community chorus) and from the Warwickshire Youth Choirs (three unauditioned boys’, girls’ and male voice choirs) to the brilliant Ex Urbe (chamber choir with recordings for BBC Radio 3)!  I regularly conduct as a guest conductor (e.g. the EU Chamber Orchestra) and also with my company HighTime, at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry where I was resident as a Springboard Artist.  I am a choral entrepreneur for Warwick – a Singing Town, whose mission is to get the whole community singing – what could be better?