Charles “Chip” Hamann was appointed to the principal oboe chair of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra in 1993 at the age of 22. Mr. Hamann is also Adjunct Professor at the University of Ottawa School of Music and the oboe instructor at the National Arts Centre’s Summer Music Institute. He is a frequent guest principal oboist with some of the world’s finest ensembles, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Québec’s Les Violons du Roy, with whom he has also recorded. He has taught at the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, l’Orchestre de la francophonie canadienne, the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra and the Affinis Music Festival in Japan, and has been a guest artist at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. Charles is a member of the National Arts Centre Wind Quintet, comprised of principal players of NACO. This chamber ensemble has played recitals and given clinics across North America, the UK, and China. Their disc of music for wind instruments by Camille Saint-Saëns (including the Oboe Sonata) with pianist Stéphane Lemelin for the Naxos label was awarded an Editor’s Choice award from Gramophone Magazine. Mr. Hamann has been a soloist with Les Violons du Roy, Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra, Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra, the Alberta Baroque Ensemble, and the Affinis Music Festival Orchestra in Japan. He has appeared many times as soloist with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in a diverse range of major concerti, both in Ottawa and on tour. He recently recorded the Bach Concerto for Oboe and Violin, BWV 1060, with Pinchas Zukerman and NACO, included on the CD Baroque Treasury on the Analekta label. Mr. Hamann has also just recorded a 2-CD compilation of works for oboe and piano by Canadian composers with pianist Frédéric Lacroix, due for release in 2017. The recording features two commissioned sonatas written expressly for him. Charles can be heard on the Analekta, ATMA, CanSona and Naxos labels, as well as the NACMusicbox online archive of NACO performances. Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA, Charles Hamann pursued his early studies at the Interlochen Arts Academy and National Music Camp at Interlochen, Michigan. He was awarded a Bachelor of Music and the prestigious Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY in 1993, where he was a student of Richard Killmer.
