Harley Hamilton

Who was Harley Hamilton?

Harley Hamilton was an American conductor, violinist and composer. He was the founder and first conductor of the LA Women's Orchestra in 1893 and of the LA Symphony in 1897. Hamilton was one of the first symphony American directors in those years, when most of conductors where born and trained abroad.

Hamilton was born in 1861 in New York by Susan C. Williams and Henry W. Burnham. He was a member of the Oneida Community in New York, which his parents joined in 1848, until the Community dissolved in 1881. Shortly before his mother's death, he was adopted by Erasmus H. Hamilton, from whom he took his name. He was trained as a violinst and a printer and it is believed that his stepfather sent him to study to the New York College of Music, where he graduated, and abroad. In 1881, when the Community dissolved, he started travelling as a member of a minstrel group and in 1883 he arrived to Los Angeles. He worked in Los Angeles both as a printer and as a musician, with several experiences as director and member of choirs, bands and orchestras. He worked with both amateur and professional orchestras.

Hamilton formed the LA Women's Orchestra in 1893 and the LA Symphony in 1897.