"The extremely difficult piano part was perfectly realized by Emily Hamper, a very authoritative accompanist throughout the concert." (Concertonet, Paris, January 2014)
Emily Hamper has earned an excellent reputation
for her exceptional skills as a vocal coach and
accompanist. Singers from her coaching studio
perform with major opera companies and symphony
orchestras around the world. Over an
international career spanning twenty-five years,
she has worked as a rehearsal pianist, coach,
and assistant conductor for many prominent opera
companies and organizations.
Highly sought-after as a collaborator for voice
recitals, notable appearances include Die
Winterreise and the Montreal Symphony
Orchestra’s “Virée Classique” with Michael
Schade, and recitals at L'Opéra National de
Paris, Music Toronto, the Canadian Opera
Company, and Queensland Music Festival with
Phillip Addis. Additionally, Emily has
accompanied recitals for Calgary Opera, Festival
Orford, Stratford Summer Music, and other
presenters in Canada, the USA, and Europe. In
2011 she won the Best Collaborative Pianist
Prize at the Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music
Competition and performed across Canada on the
National Winner's Tour. Performances have been
broadcast on CBC Radio, Radio-Canada, Classical
96.3 FM and Vermont Public Radio.
Engaged as a répétiteur and official audition
accompanist by Calgary Opera, l'Opéra de
Montréal, Green Mountain Opera Festival, Opera
Atelier and Pacific Opera Victoria, Ms. Hamper
was production director for a performance based
on Manon at the Muskoka Opera Festival in 2013.
Her genuine interest in new music has resulted
in engagements with Soundstreams Canada and
Tapestry Opera, the workshopping of several new
Canadian operas, and the commission of a new
song cycle by composer Erik Ross and poet
Zachariah Wells.
Emily maintains a passion for teaching and
mentoring. Recently appointed Conductor and
Music Director of Opera at Wilfrid Laurier
University, she has served on the faculty of the
Vancouver International Song Institute, the
University of Toronto, l'Université de Montréal,
The Banff Centre, and Dolora Zajick’s Institute
for Young Dramatic Voices. Emily is a co-founder
and co-artistic director of the Stratford Summer
Music Vocal Academy, an élite training program
for singers and pianists in Stratford Ontario.
In 2020 she joined Brott Opera as Artistic
Administrator and Principal Coach. In addition
to her work with singers, Ms. Hamper has
performed orchestral keyboards with the
Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and London
Symphonia, and as a chamber musician with the
INNERchamber Ensemble, Stratford.
Born and raised in the Vancouver area, Emily
received her undergraduate musical training at
UBC. She furthered her studies at the Opera
Division at the University of Toronto, where she
was appointed to the music staff upon
graduation. She is an alumna of the prestigious
Merola Opera Program at the San Francisco Opera,
and was the recipient of a Merola Career Grant
for studies in Munich. She currently lives in
Stratford, Ontario.
