Arts + Culture - Hamilton City Magazine

There is plenty of ambition in HPO’s next season

By Meredith MacLeod May 15, 2026

Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra’s nine-concert mainstage program will feature acclaimed Canadian soloists, the debut of several new works, movie classics, the beloved Carmen, and a holiday Murdoch Mystery show. The next season of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra will feature a beloved opera, acclaimed Canadian soloists, sci-fi movie classics, and…

Arts + Culture

REVIEW: Matilda Jr. showcases bright young thespians honing their skills

By Allison M. Jones May 14, 2026

Curtain Call Performing Arts Company’s sold-out run of the popular musical promised a ‘joyous romp,’ and it delivered in impressive fashion. Late last week, local performing arts company Curtain Call held four sold-out performances of the musical Matilda Jr., the culmination of its 2026 intermediate musical theatre program…

Arts + Culture

REVIEW: New play is a potent tale

By Stephen Near May 14, 2026

In Click Bush Train Bug, a talented local ensemble presents an intriguing fable set among Hamilton high school students at the end of the last millennium. Specificity in theatre is everything. A gesture or a line of dialogue that follows precision instead of vague abstractions is always a…

Arts + Culture

A new home for Linus the cello

By Meredith MacLeod May 8, 2026

A devastating accident means John Dvořák can no longer play his beloved instrument, so he donated it to the Hamilton Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, where he once played. When a devastating bicycle accident left John Dvořák with a spinal cord industry that meant he could no longer play the…

Arts + Culture

Hamilton’s music scene: What is and what could be

By Dylan Hudecki May 8, 2026

Music writer Dylan Hudecki asked Hamilton’s music insiders for their opinions about how to keep the local music scene thriving and reinventing itself. Think of it as a suggestion box to turn up the volume on Hamilton. Hamilton’s music scene continues to thrive as one of Canada’s most…

Arts + Culture

The young and the talented take to the stage

By Allison M. Jones May 7, 2026

Youth performers stage Disney’s Descendants: The Musical in Brantford this weekend and School of Rock in Hamilton next week. Based on the popular Disney Channel movies, Disney's Descendants: The Musical is a show packed with comedy, adventure, colourful characters and hit songs being staged by a youth company…