James Sommerville BSO's Sommerville is artist at IHS Banff Summit Cornucopia, May 1998

"Boston is wonderful," says Jamie Sommerville, the new Principal horn of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. "My colleagues have been welcoming, and taking Mahler on tour right away was exhilarating." The BSO toured with the 6th and 3rd in Europe in March (with Associate Principal Gus Sebring on first for the 3rd). Boston Globe critic Richard Dyer wrote about Jamie's performance in the 6th that he "...knows how to move flexibly from the soloistic to chamber music to orchestral playing."

Jamie is a native of Toronto, where he first learned piano and recorder. when he was in junior high, the students could choose a band instrument. "I had no idea what a horn was," recalls Jamie. "I wanted a sax, but they were all taken. I thought the horn looked like an interesting machine; I didn't know what it sounded like. Obviously, it has worked out well for me."

Jamie has been Principal horn with the Canadian Opera and Symphony Nova Scotia and Associate with Montreal. He has also toured Canada, Europe, and the US as soloist and recitalist. He has recorded CDs, the most recent being chamber music on Marquis Classics and the Mozart Concertos with Mario Bernardi and the CBC Vancouver. He started recording the concertos and other solo repertoire for CBC broadcast and recently realized that they had covered all the standard repertoire.

As Associate Principal in Montreal for eight years, Jamie did not play many of the big orchestral parts, so he is looking forward to more Mahler and other standard major works. He likes the fact that the position includes solo and chamber playing. The long audition process included these aspects. Jamie says, "Chamber music is a big part of what I want to do. The BSO Chamber Players is fantastic, and certainly unusual in a symphony orchestra." He will also be teaching a NEC and Longy.

Jamie is returning to Canada in June to be a featured artist at the IHS Summit in Banff. He has attended two IHS workshops, but this is his first on stage. It is fitting that he appear at a Canadian venue and as Principal of the BSO.

Jamie became ill and was unable to travel to Banff. However, he has since played in 1999 in Athens GA and 2001 at Kalamazoo. Sommerville at BSO

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