Wesley Catherine Hamilton (she/her/hers) is a violist, violinist, educator, entrepreneur, and music theorist based in Baltimore, Maryland. Hamilton graduated with her Master’s degree in Viola Performance and Viola/Violin Pedagogy at Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University in May of 2023 and is now pursuing her Doctorate in Musical Arts at Peabody in addition to a Master’s in Music Theory Pedagogy. She graduated with the class of 2020 from the University of Georgia with two undergraduate degrees in Music Performance and Music Theory, Summa Cum Laude. Her primary teachers are Professor Victoria Chiang, Professor Maggie Snyder and Dr. Emily Gertsch, PhD. 

Hamilton is Adjunct Faculty of Violin and Viola at Howard Community College and teaches at The Music Institute. Her studio of 14 spans all ages and skill levels on violin and viola. In addition to her teaching, Hamilton coaches sectionals for the Columbia Youth Symphony and the Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestra. She has served as an adjudicator for the Howard County School System’s Solo/Ensemble Festival since 2023. Previously, Hamilton taught viola and violin lessons at Mike’s Music in Ellicott City, Maryland from 2021-24 teaching 30 violin and viola students from ages 4-55 weekly, culminating in over 4000 lessons across 3 years. Hamilton has served as a guest clinician for the Suzuki Strings of Augusta Workshop since 2024. Hamilton spent the 2020-21 school year as an itinerate teacher in the Richmond County Orchestra Program in the Richmond County School System in Augusta, GA. She was responsible for orchestra programs at Goshen Elementary, McBean Elementary, Hains Elementary, Pine Hill Middle, Butler High, and Cross Creek High School, teaching 120 students across programs.

Hamilton has performed as a section viola 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. Hamilton has held principal positions in the UGA Symphony Orchestra under Mark Cedel and the Peabody Symphony Orchestra under Mei-Ann Chen. In addition to her ensemble experience, Hamilton has been a finalist in both the UGA Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition and the UGA Wind Ensemble Concerto Competition. Masterclass credits include: Ettore Causa, Jordan Bak, Roberto Diaz, Ivo van der Werff, 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 most recently served as a Strategic Advisor for the 2025 Summer Incubator, where she advised 5 teams during the 6-week cohort. Hamilton co-developed the Kindling pre-accelerator program in 2024 and designed a new curriculum, and facilitated 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.

Hamilton served as an Assistant Dean/Lead Activities Dean for the Brevard Music Center’s 2024 season. Hamilton attended the Brevard Music Center during high school and college in 2015-17, 2019, and 2021, where she studied with Maggie Snyder and Jenny Snyder-Kozoroz and served as a high school and college Resident Assistant. At Brevard, Hamilton performed with the BMC Orchestra and the Brevard Camerata, where she held principal positions with maestros Keith Lockhart, Ken Lam, and JoAnne Falletta.