Dr. Greg Hamilton

Cello and Bass

Sponsored by Nancy Jones and Michael Hovland

Biography

Greg Hamilton has taught cello and double bass at Concordia College-Moorhead for the past 13 years. Before this he was the Executant Senior Lecturer of Cello at the University of Otago in New Zealand and Illinois State University, where he was a founding member of the Ricard Trio. While in New Zealand, Greg made many solo appearances and was frequently heard on Concert-FM Radio New Zealand broadcasts, the Otago Daily Times calling him a “master of the instrument”. He also served as president of the String Teachers Association of New Zealand Aotearoa and was a national adjudicator for the Chamber Music New Zealand competition.

Greg is a former member of the Columbus Symphony and has toured and recorded in the cello section of the Houston Symphony. Highlights from his extensive international travels include working with underprivileged children in Argentina, appearing on live broadcasts on German Public Radio of Cologne, participating in the William Pleeth masterclasses at the Aldeburgh Festival, and performing chamber music at the Festival dei due Mondi (Italy) and Canterbury Music Festival (England). He also served as principal cello of the Spoleto Festival Orchestra.

Hamilton received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Kansas, which culminated in a lecture recital on the origins of cello literature and performance. Prior to this he was a student of Bernard Greenhouse at Rutgers University, Raya Garbousova at Northern Illinois University and Richard Kapuscinski at the Oberlin Conservatory. In 2011 his solo CD “The Hollywood Cello”, featuring works by film composers of the Golden Era, was released by Soundset Recordings. In the Fall of 2017, Greg returned to New Zealand where he performed a solo recital, recorded a sonata by contemporary composer Anthony Ritchie, and had the unique experience of performing with the Cellists of Otago, an ensemble of dedicated cellists in Dunedin that he initiated when he lived there.