Dr. Darren Hamilton

Prior to his appointment to the Faculty of Music in 2023, Dr. Darren Hamilton taught secondary music full-time for 15 years. He was also part-time contract faculty in the Faculty of Music at Wilfrid Laurier University and in the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto (U of T). In addition to teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in music education at U of T, he is the founding director of the U of T Faculty of Music Gospel Choir.

Dr. Hamilton currently serves as an assistant director for the JUNO Award-winning Toronto Mass Choir (TMC), and was a member of the JUNO-nominated Youth Outreach Mass Choir. He has guest conducted performances for the University of Toronto Chamber and Tenor-Bass Choirs, the Oakville Choral, and most recently, the Tyndale Community Choir. He directs and has recorded with the PowerUp Chorale, an ad hoc vocal ensemble that meets and performs at TMC’s annual PowerUp Gospel Music Workshop.

Dr. Hamilton’s research interests lie in formal gospel music pedagogy, popular music pedagogy, hip hop music education, anti-Black racism in music education and equity, diversity and social justice in music education. His work has been published in the Canadian Music Educator and the Recorder journals, produced by the Canadian Music Educators’ Association and the Ontario Music Educators’ Association (OMEA), respectively. He is the visionary and co-author of the national MusiCounts Learn teacher resource, #BlackMusicMatters: Hip Hop & Social Justice in Canada. He is also the co-editor of the forthcoming edited volume, The Why and How of Popular Music Education: A Canadian Perspective. Dr. Hamilton recently received a 2024 Connaught New Researcher Award from the University of Toronto and is currently engaged in research exploring the perceptions and benefits of curricular gospel choir programs for students at Canadian postsecondary institutions. His work with the U of T Faculty of Music Gospel Choir was featured in a 2024 CBC Radio documentary which aired on "Ideas with Nahlah Ayeh", "The Current with Matt Galloway", and "Storylines". In the fall of 2025, the gospel choir released its debut single, “Do You See Them?”, which was co-composed, co-produced, co-arranged, and executive produced by Dr. Hamilton.

Dr. Hamilton has been a guest lecturer, workshop presenter and panelist for events hosted by MusiCounts, Choral Canada (PODIUM Conference), the Ontario Music Educators’ Association (OMEA Conference), the Alberta Teacher’s Association (Fine Arts Council Conference), the British Columbia Music Educator’s Association (BCMEA Conference), the International Society of Music Education (ISME Conference), the Association of Popular Music Education (APME Conference), the University of Guelph, the University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University, York University, the University of Toronto, and several public and catholic school boards across Ontario.

Dr. Darren Hamilton was the recipient of the 2022 JUNO Award for MusiCounts Teacher of the Year, recognizing his commitment to equity and diversity in music education and his professional contributions to the field of music education.