James Sommerville

Who is James Sommerville?

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, associate principal horn of the Montreal Symphony and third horn of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. 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.