Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Gregory Hamilton.
Hi Dr. Hamilton, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I am a composer and music performer, and I enjoy creating music and presenting it in public. My main occupation is being involved in Sacred Music as an organist, singer and conductor, and I am Music Director of St. Joseph Church in Macon. At St. Joseph, I direct a number of choirs and play the parishes’ hundred and twenty years old pipe organ. The parish is on the register of Historic Places and will be declared a Basilica (A historic church of national significance) at some point.
As well, I am involved in two other musical areas – as a composer, I write a lot of chamber music for many players and for orchestras and choirs. ASs well, I am involved in the field of Early Music – I play baroque music from the 17th century on the Harpsichord, and several lutes, including the theorbo – a six foot long lute. I am involved in several groups in the middle Georgia area –
The Atlanta Baroque Orchestra (Directed by Julie Andrijeski and Evan Few), https://atlantabaroque.org/
The Amethyst Baroque Ensemble, Directed by Alexandra Dunbar and Jody Miller. https://www.amethystbaroque.com/
My website is: www.gregoryhamilton.org.
You may hear recordings of my music making on my YouTube channel: ghmus7
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Music is always difficult because it requires an incredible amount of study, practice and dedication. You have to persevere! In the field of classical music, sometimes people don’t really understand the kind of music you do, so being a classical performer always involves education and striving to interest people in the beauty that is our musical heritage.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I think music is something that brings people together and creates peace in our world. Here a statement I wrote, which includes a noteworthy quote of Leonard Bernstein:
…The world we live in seems to become more and more attached to violence as a solution to long-term problems of humanity. I believe that each of us must with the help of God, find the way to solve differences with each other, and the start of such peaceful being, though modest, begins within each of us and our families. Creativity, music and art is a way of expressing peace, joy and belonging, as well as expressing sorrow, lament grief and acceptance. Music has the power to change our hearts, and the measure of a good society is that culture’s openness to the transforming effect of music.
Leonard Bernstein: “This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.”
What does success mean to you?
Creating something that does good for people in the world. Fostering loving relationships to each other and to God.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gregoryhamilton.org
- Youtube: ghmus7
- Other: https://www.amethystbaroque.com/
Image Credits
All by Gregory Hamilton
