Hamilton was born in Napier and studied composition with Douglas Mews and John Rimmer at the University of Auckland.
[1] He trained as a teacher and joined the staff of Epsom Girls Grammar School, and was then Head of Music from 1986[2] until 2001.
This led to numerous commissions, including one from New Zealand's National Youth Choir, of which he was a founder member.
[2] He is particularly known for his choral music, with over four hundred works, which are widely performed, especially by school, youth and community choirs.
[4] Other activities have included choral adjudication in Japan, Hawaii, Argentina and Wales, and workshop presentations in Hong Kong, Singapore, Boston and Kuala Lumpur.