About

Wesley Catherine Hamilton (she/her/hers) is a violist, violinist, educator, and music theorist based in Baltimore, Maryland. She holds a Master’s degree in Viola Performance and Pedagogy from the Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University (2023) and completed her doctoral coursework there in spring of 2025. In addition to her DMA, she is pursuing a second Master’s degree in Music Theory Pedagogy. Hamilton graduated summa cum laude from the University of Georgia in 2020 with dual undergraduate degrees in Music Performance and Music Theory. Her principal teachers include Professor Victoria Chiang, Professor Maggie Snyder, and Dr. Emily Gertsch. She is currently preparing for her doctoral comprehensive exams and dissertation, and is expected to graduate in 2026.

Hamilton serves as Adjunct Faculty of Violin and Viola at Howard Community College and teaches at The Music Institute, maintaining a studio of 14 students across a wide range of ages and skill levels. She also coaches sectionals for the Columbia Youth Symphony and the Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestra, and has adjudicated for the Howard County School System’s Solo/Ensemble Festival since 2023. From 2021 to 2024, she taught violin and viola at Mike’s Music in Ellicott City, Maryland, instructing 35 students weekly and accumulating over 4,000 lessons. She has also contributed as a guest clinician for the Suzuki Strings of Augusta Workshop since 2024. During the 2020–2021 academic year, Hamilton was an itinerant teacher for the Richmond County Orchestra Program in Augusta, GA. She directed orchestra programs at six schools—Goshen Elementary, McBean Elementary, Hains Elementary, Pine Hill Middle, Butler High, and Cross Creek High School—teaching 120 students across all levels of violin, viola, and cello. 

As an orchestral and chamber musician, Hamilton has performed as a section violist with the Harrisburg Symphony, Bach in Baltimore, The Apollo Orchestra (DC), The Live Wire String Quartet, Augusta Symphony, Aiken Symphony, and the North Georgia Chamber Symphony. She has held principal positions with both the UGA Symphony Orchestra under Mark Cedel and the Peabody Symphony Orchestra under Mei-Ann Chen. She was a finalist in the UGA Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition and the UGA Wind Ensemble Concerto Competition, and has participated in masterclasses with artists including Ettore Causa, Jordan Bak, Roberto Diaz, Ivo van der Werff, Victoria Chiang, Edward Klorman, Jenny Snyder-Kozoroz, Erika Eckert, Daphne Gerling, and Hillary Herndon.

Hamilton has been a Strategic Advisor and student intern with the Pava Marie LaPere Center for Entrepreneurship at Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures since 2022. She co-developed the Kindling pre-accelerator program in 2024, collaborating with co-lead Selena Shirkin to design curriculum and facilitate two 8-week student cohorts. As a Strategic Advisor for the Spark Accelerator from 2023 to 2024, she guided ventures in pitching, MVP planning, financial modeling, and customer discovery. In fall 2021, Hamilton completed the Spark Accelerator herself, subsequently founding The Practice Peg, LLC, which originated from that experience. Her involvement with the Pava Center also includes serving as a Strategic Advisor for the 2025 Summer Incubator and as a Teaching Assistant for the Breakthrough curriculum at Peabody Conservatory from 2022 to 2024.

At the Brevard Music Center, Hamilton served as Assistant Dean/Lead Activities Dean for the 2024 season. She attended Brevard as a student in 2015–2017, 2019, and 2021, performing with the BMC Orchestra and Camerata and holding principal positions under conductors Keith Lockhart, Ken Lam, and JoAnne Falletta. In 2022, she attended the Aspen Music Festival, performing with the Aspen Festival Orchestra and studying with Professor Victoria Chiang, and taught through the AMFS P.A.L.S. program. She also participated in the Montecito International Summer Music Festival in 2018, studying with Yizak Schotten.

Wesley is also the owner of Zelda, her cat. In her free time, she enjoys playing video games, spending time with friends, walking in nature, and napping.