James Sommerville joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra as principal horn in January 1998. Mr. Sommerville has also enjoyed a solo career that has brought critically acclaimed appearances with all the major Canadian orchestras, the radio orchestras of Bavaria and Berlin, and many others throughout North America and Europe. Mr. Sommerville has performed at many chamber music festivals, including the Festival of The Sound, the Vancouver Chamber Music Festival, Scotia Festival, Domaine Forget, Sarasota, and the Banff International Festival of the Arts. Recent solo performances of note include the world premiere of Christos Hatzis's Winter Solstice for horn and strings in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories; the North American premiere of Ligeti's Hamburg Concerto with the Boston Symphony; the John Williams Horn Concerto, with the composer conducting the BSO at Tanglewood, and the Weber Concertino, performed on natural horn, broadcast live on National Public Radio with the Handel and Haydn Society led Christopher Hogwood. With the Boston Symphony Orchestra and James Levine in the 2007-08 season, he will give the world premiere of Elliott Carter's Horn Concerto, commissioned by the BSO. In addition to performing as a hornist, Mr. Sommerville is also artistic director of the Hamilton Philharmonic, one of Canada's venerable professional symphony orchestras.

James Sommerville performs in “Classical Masters” on March 7 and 9.