Vincent Ho (b.1975)

Vincent Ho is a multi-award winning composer whose music has been described as ‘brilliant and compelling’ by The New York Times, and hailed for its profound expressiveness and textural beauty. His many awards and recognitions have included five Juno Awards nominations, Harvard University’s Fromm Music Commission, the Canada Council for the Arts Robert Fleming Prize, the ASCAP Foundation’s Morton Gould Young Composer Award, four SOCAN Foundation Young Composers Awards, and CBC Radio’s Audience Choice Award (2009 Young Composers’ Competition).

From 2007 to 2014, Dr Ho served as the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s composer-in-residence, presenting a number of large-scale works that generated much critical praise. His Arctic Symphony has been described ‘as a beautiful work that evokes the Far North in a very special way’ (John Corigliano), and ‘a mature and atmospheric work that firmly establishes Ho among North American composers of note’ (Winnipeg Free Press). His percussion concerto, titled The Shaman, composed for Dame Evelyn Glennie, was hailed as a triumph, receiving unanimous acclaim and declared by critics to be ‘spectacular’ (New York Classical Review), ‘a powerhouse work’ (Winnipeg Free Press) and ‘rocking/mesmerizing…downright gorgeous’ (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). His second concerto for Glennie, titled From Darkness To Light – Ho’s musical response to cancer – was lauded as ‘a lasting masterpiece of sensitivity and perception’ (Winnipeg Free Press).