Our Music Leaders

Bruce Burbidge

Music Co-Director
Bruce-Burbidge

Hanna Bech Mathieson

Music Co-Director
Hanna-2018_404x373

Bruce was born in Toronto and began his musical studies in Peterborough. While still a teenager he moved to England to pursue studies in church music, holding organ scholarships at King’s School, Rochester, Christ’s College, Cambridge and Westminster Metropolitan Cathedral. He also undertook further studies in philosophy and theology, becoming actively engaged in pastoral ministry and lecturing in philosophy for many years. Before returning to Ontario to take up the post of Director of Music Ministries at Christ’s Church Cathedral, he was Director of Music at St Andrew’s Church, Aylestone, Leicester in the United Kingdom.

We welcome Bruce to the Hamilton Sings choir for our 2023-2024 seasons!

Hanna is a teacher, a songwriter, composer, and a community-oriented individual. She believes that art is found in everyday life, and that when we learn music together we are not only learning music – we are learning through music.

Hanna is a lifelong learner and has studied instruments, functional bel canto voice studies, songwriting, improvisation, solfa and pedagogy through institutions and teachers such as McMaster University, University of Toronto, Dalcroze Eurhythmics Canada, Carol Bagott-Forte, Lori Yates, and an apprenticeship with Hamilton Sings! founder Sue Crowe Connolly.

As a creative, Hanna has made arrangements and compositions for the choir, and put together inventive community arts events such as Queens of Quirk, and Mirroring. As a songwriter she crowdfunded her EP Naked Bones in 2016 with international support, and in 2017 she was featured in the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra’s Indie Series.

Some fun facts about Hanna:

  • Her great-grandfather taught in a one room school house
  • Hanna has been with HS from the first term until 2021 and is returning in 2022
  • Hanna is a multi-instrumentalist and went to school for trumpet

She likes to joke that she played trumpet until she could sing.

http://embodymusic.ca/