Described as “a thoughtful musician, extremely well prepared and meticulous in his approach” by the late Bernard Haitink, Alvin Ho, native of Hong Kong, was the first prize winner of the 2022 Princess Astrid International Conducting Competition in Trondheim, Norway.  He was also named Assistant Conductor of Florida's Naples Philharmonic Orchestra (2022-now) after recently completing his two-season tenure as Assistant Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (2020-2022).  Prior to that, he served as Assistant Conductor at the Indiana Opera and Ballet Theatre (2017-2020).

 

Ho was previously selected by members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra to be the Karajan Conducting Fellow in residence at the Salzburg Festival, and also named Bruno Walter Conducting Fellow at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. He was also a semi-finalist in the Donetella Flick London Symphony Orchestra Conducting Competition.

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Ho also enjoys a close relationship with Riccardo Muti, whom selected him as a student in 2018 and regularly invites him to observe his rehearsals with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.  He is also one of eight young conductors selected to attend Bernard Haitink's masterclass at the Lucerne Festival.

 

He has worked internationally with orchestras throughout Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States,  including but not limited to: Scottish Chamber Orchestra (UK), Royal Scottish National Orchestra (UK), Jena Philharmonic (Germany), Luzern Festival Strings (Switzerland), Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini (Italy), and Cabrillo Festival Orchestra (USA).

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Beyond the symphonic podium, Ho has also worked extensively on the operatic stage. In March 2022, Ho was assistant conductor in the world premiere of the chamber orchestra version of Jonathan Dove's Flight in Scotland; In Autumn 2019 he was assistant conductor in Wagner’s Parsifal at Indiana Opera, and in 2018 conducted Verdi’s Macbeth in concert form at the Ravenna Festival, under the mentorship of Riccardo Muti. Ho has worked with renowned singers including Riccardo Zanellato, Kristinn Sigmundsson, Mark Delavan and Vittoria Yeo. He has also conducted ballet performances at Indiana Ballet Theater.

 

Ho enjoys a close working relationship with Red Note Contemporary Music Ensemble, a leader of the genre in the UK.  Together they have performed a diverse palette of contemporary works such as Schönberg's Pierrot Lunaire, Ligeti Kammerkonzert, John Adams Shaker Loops and Gérard Grisey Vortex Temporum.  Previously, Ho has presented world premieres in the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music (Santa Cruz, CA) and conducted Ari Fisher's film score for Indiana University, a video that has been seen on major US national news channels.

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As a keen educator, he served as Assistant Conductor to Ludovic Morlot for the Carnegie Hall debut and the China tour of the National Youth Orchestra of China in 2017.  Ho also guest conducted the Empire State Youth Orchestra (US), the largest of its kind in the country, and worked with other young musicians from Western Illinois University (IL, USA), Wabash Valley Youth Orchestra (IN, USA) and Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (UK).  

 

Ho studied primarily with Arthur Fagen, Riccardo Muti and Bernard Haitink. He has also worked additionally with Garry Walker, Nicolás Pasquet, Neeme Järvi and Thomas Wilkins. Ho holds a Master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

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