Paul Hamilton

Paul Hamilton, a native of Savannah, Georgia, has developed a versatile career as a pianist, composer and music director. He has performed at the famous Cappella and the Smolny Cathedral in St. Petersburg, Russia; at the Tokyo International Oboe Competition, with oboist Jennet Ingle; at the Galway Music Festival in Galway, Ireland; and at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago.

Recent engagements include roles as director in the new Redwoods Opera Workshop with Elizabeth Vrenios in Mendocino, California; conductor and pianist in The Barber of Seville in Opera Fresca, Mendocino; Odetta & Robert Sims in Norfolk, Virginia; Simon, Sykes, & Sims with Chicago baritone Robert Sims, Sony recording artist Jubilant Sykes, and opera veteran Simon Estes. Hamilton currently tours the US with Robert Sims.

As composer Hamilton has collaborated with librettist Gail Deschamps for the national touring company GMT Productions, including Sadako and a Thousand Cranes, Alice in Wonderland, and The Emperor’s New Clothes. He was awarded an Individual Artist Grant by the Georgia Council for the Arts.

Hamilton has conducted and arranged over 25 productions for the Fireside Theater in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, including original arrangements and orchestrations for their annual Christmas show with Broadway theater director Phillip McKinley. Chicago credits include The Light in the Piazza at the Goodman Theater, Jesus Christ Superstar at the Drury Lane Theatre, and Sweeney Todd at the Ravinia Festival with Patti Lupone and George Hearn.

Hamilton earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Shorter College in Rome, Georgia between 1987 and 1992 with William Knight; he also pursued private post- graduate study with Vladimir Shakin at the Conservatory of Music in St. Petersburg, Russia. He is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda National Honor Music Society, and Alpha Chi National Honor Society.

In his spare time, Hamilton volunteers as a patient advocate-videographer for hip resurfacing. He recently attended the American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons Conference in Las Vegas with fellow advocate Vicky Marlow to film interviews with some of the world’s leading surgeons.

Paul Hamilton resides in Chicago, where he is Music Director at Lake View Lutheran Church.