Alumni Wall of Fame 2024
Congratulations to the 2024 inductees Brian McIntosh, BA(Mus)'79 and Jamie Hillman, BMus'05 who will be honoured at the Alumni Awards Celebration during Homecoming on Saturday, September 28, 2024.
To attend, purchase tickets via Alumni Western.
Brian McIntosh, BA(Mus)'79
Canadian bass-baritone Brian McIntosh has earned international acclaim for his “powerful, voluminous voice and imposing presence” (New York Newsday). As a regular performer with opera companies and festivals in North America and Europe, Mr. McIntosh enjoyed success in roles such as Nourabad in Pearl Fishers, Bonze in Madama Butterfly, Commendatore in Don Giovanni, and Rambaldo in La Rondine with the renowned New York City Opera, Banquo in Macbeth with Opéra de Montréal, Bailli in Werther, Commendatore in Don Giovanni and Doctor Bartolo in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Vancouver Opera, Bartolo in Marriage of Figaro with New Orleans Opera, also in Cenerentola, Fledermaus, Les Pêcheurs des Perles, and Falstaff with Opera Lyra Ottawa. He appeared in Cosi fan tutte, Salome, La Traviata and many other productions with the Canadian Opera Company. He performed in Orfeo with Helsinki Festival, in Bartered Bride with Kiel Opera and Essen Stadt Theater, and in Parsifal with Landestheater Detmold, Germany. He appeared in La Cenerentola with Calgary Opera, Daphne and Macbeth with Pacific Opera Victoria, Otello with Opera Lyra Ottawa and Manitoba Opera, and Der Freischütz, The Merry Wives of Windsor and Barber of Seville at the Zwingenberg Schlossfestspiele in Germany. He also performed with Arizona Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Grand Rapids Opera and Edmonton Opera. McIntosh has appeared in opera broadcasts on CBC Radio, CBC TV and PBS TV.
Brian McIntosh made a name for himself performing in new works, including the world premieres of Serinette by Harry Somers for Music at Sharon, Florence by Tim Sullivan at Elora Festival and Game Misconduct by Leslie Uyeda at Festival Vancouver.
Concert engagements included performances with Riverside Choral Society in New York City, with Seattle Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Singapore Symphony, and Rutgers Orchestra. He performed with the Aeolian Winds, with Placido Domingo in Maple Leaf Gardens, as well as in concerts in Stuttgart and Salzburg with Die Brücke Orchestra, and in Detmold with Deutsche Bach Solisten.
Brian McIntosh was a highly regarded pedagogue, teaching voice and opera at the University of Western Ontario, Rutgers University (tenured) and University of Alberta (tenured). McIntosh received three teaching awards while at Western. He was a guest Professor at the Hochschule für Musik in Köln, Germany, and also a guest voice instructor at COSI in Sulmona, Italy and Opera Nuova in Edmonton. Most recently, he was on the voice faculty of Western University, from 2016–19.
Jamie Hillman, BMus'05
Jamie Hillman is an award-winning conductor and educator, known for his innate artistry and leadership on the podium and in the classroom and studio. His commitment to performing, conducting and teaching is evident through a mile-long list of accomplishments that illustrate an esteemed career as a conductor, professor and adjudicator. Jamie is a worthy inductee to the Don Wright Faculty of Music Wall of Fame.
Jamie was appointed to the University of Toronto in 2021 as the Elmer Iseler Chair in Conducting, director of choral studies and an associate professor. He conducts the U of T MacMillan Singers and leads the master's and doctoral programs in choral conducting. At the conclusion of the 2023-24 academic year, Jamie received the Faculty of Music's Teaching Award which recognizes excellence, commitment and innovation in teaching.
During his doctoral studies in Boston, Jamie co-initiated a vocal music program in the Massachusetts prison system. His ability to build bridges of understanding and collaboration and his calm approach deeply resonated with program participants. He is creating a similar program at a women’s prison in Kitchener, Ontario.
Dr. Hillman has guest conducted, performed, adjudicated and presented throughout Canada, the United States, Brazil, France, India, Indonesia, Portugal and Taiwan. He has led festival, honour, and All-State choirs throughout Canada, the US, and in Taiwan. Most recently he conducted two national festival choruses at Carnegie Hall with Manhattan Concert Productions and National Concerts. He returns to Carnegie Hall in 2025.
Jamie’s schedule of upcoming engagements includes conducting the Alberta Youth Choir, Nova Scotia Youth Choir and honour choirs in Illinois, Louisiana and Virginia; serving on the international juries of the 14th World Choir Festival on Musical and Competition (Thessaloniki, Greece) and the Bali International Choir Competition (Indonesia); and residencies at several Canadian and international universities.
Jamie is the curator and editor of The Jamie Hillman Choral Series published by Santa Barbara Music Publishing. He also edits Beckenhorst Press’ Concert Series and writes choral pedagogical curriculum with composer Dan Forrest. Jamie has published articles on choral literature and pedagogy in several academic journals. He is the 2012 laureate of the Leslie Bell Prize for Choral Conducting from the Ontario Arts Council.
Jamie’s fondest memories at Western were classes, lessons, rehearsals and concerts with Western’s outstanding faculty: Marianna Chibotar-Rutkevich, Kevin McMillan, Victoria Meredith, Jennifer Moir, Gerald Neufeld, Kari Veblen, Paul Woodford and Tina Yanchus. Jamie is grateful for their mentorship and example.
