James Sommerville

For the British naval officer, see James Somerville (admiral).

James Sommerville is a Canadian orchestral hornist and conductor. He is the current principal hornist for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and former Conductor and Music Director of the Hamilton Philharmonic, in Hamilton, Canada. Before coming to Boston in 1998, Sommerville was formerly principal horn of the Canadian Opera Company and Symphony Nova Scotia, acting principal horn of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe (1996–1998), associate principal horn of the Montreal Symphony (Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal) (1986–1991) and third horn of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (1997). Sommerville has also performed and recorded internationally as a chamber musician and soloist and teaches currently at the Longy School of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music. He is heard on recordings on CBC, Marquis, Deutsche Grammophon, and Decca labels.

Somerville inspired the creation of Elliott Carter's 2006 Horn Concerto which he premiered with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 2007.

Childhood

Jamie was born in Women's College Hospital in Toronto in 1962. He attended high school at UTS and later studied at the University of Western Ontario with Robert Creech and then at the University of Toronto with Eugene Rittich.

External links

• Bio
• James Sommerville home page
• Hear James Sommerville in concert from WGBH Radio Boston