Hamilton Philharmonic Musicians: Organized and United

Fine Facts About the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra

The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra employs 60 musicians, with 30 of them as full-time members. The musicians, as members of the Hamilton Musician’s Guild, local 293 AFM, and the Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians, work under the terms of a negotiated collective agreement. Under the agreement, all musicians working with the orchestra are entitled to defined rights, pay, and benefits.

Musicians of Hamilton’s symphonic music and chamber music community have, over the years, been faithful and committed advocates for local symphonic music, musicians’ wellness and positive working conditions.

HPO Composer-in-Residence Abigail Richardson-Schulte
Photo: Michael Schulte

Always looking for new ways to engage its audience, the HPO is now undertaking a collaborative project this April combining music and visual art called What Next? “What music looks like. What art sounds like.” This exciting event will put the work of HPO Composer-in-Residence Abigail Richardson-Schulte and several local artists into the limelight.

About the Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians

OCSM (the Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians) is the voice of Canadian professional orchestral musicians. OCSM’s mission is to uphold and improve the working conditions of professional Canadian orchestral musicians, to promote communication between its members, and to advocate on behalf of the Canadian cultural community.

OCSM is a conference of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM) representing approximately 1100 musicians working under collective agreements in twenty Canadian orchestras. Together with other players’ conferences (ICSOM, ROPA, RMA, and TMA), we work with the AFM to improve conditions across the continent.

I discovered today that the OCSM keeps an active news blog on its website. The most recent post is called Orchestra Digest, March 8. You can read it here.


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