14 Facts About Hamish McKeich

Hamish John McKeich was born on 13 May 1967 and is a New Zealand bassoon player and conductor.

Hamish McKeich is principal conductor in residence of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

Hamish McKeich came from a musical family; he learnt the oboe and then the bassoon once his fingers were big enough.

Hamish McKeich's father was his first bassoon teacher and he continued his bassoon studies at Wellington Polytechnic with Colin Hemmingsen.

Hamish McKeich later moved to Sydney to continue studying with bassoonist Gordon Skinner.

In 1999 Hamish McKeich returned to New Zealand and joined the NZSO as a bassoon player.

Hamish McKeich has conducted other orchestras in New Zealand: the Southern Symphonia, the Auckland Philharmonia and the Christchurch Symphony.

Hamish McKeich became the conductor of Stroma, a contemporary music ensemble in Wellington, which formed in 2000.

Hamish McKeich has developed a career internationally working with many orchestras.

In 2007 Hamish McKeich took a group of musicians, including some from the NZSO, on a tour to China.

Hamish McKeich has promoted contemporary music as part of the orchestral repertoire.

Hamish McKeich has collaborated with musicians and performers from other genres including the band The Phoenix Foundation, jazz musician Nathan Haines, the band Shapeshifter and singer Teeks, who performed with the NZSO in 2022.

In 2021, after conducting a performance of Stravinsky's The Soldiers Tale, Hamish McKeich had a stroke which left him paralysed on his right side.

In 2012 Hamish McKeich was awarded a citation by the Douglas Lilburn Trust for outstanding services to music in New Zealand.