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Latest News (Writing and Features here)
21 May 2023
Untold Review: "...ingenious musical and theatrical dramaturgy"
Muziektheater Transparant, theater krant (in Dutch)
Critics Choice: This was again a happy choice by the programmers of the O. Festival, in collaboration with Muziektheater Transparant and Concertgebouw Brugge. And yes, the audience also knows where to find the performance. Sold out. It may be that some of the audience was professional programmers. But then this 2019 production interrupted by Corona will hopefully continue on a justified triumphal march around the world.
29 April 2023
Untold Review: "...ingeniously combines two traditions..."
Muziektheater Transparant, pzazz theater
So this old story, a musical intermingling of East and West, becomes more than an eye-pleasing, intriguing and convincing performance. The piece is certainly all of the above, but most importantly it is deeply moving on a human level. This ‘Untold’ allows a European audience to feel what it means to be part of a society that is not completely alien to you, but in which you never completely find your place. With it, Muziektheater Transparant made a wonderful contribution to the ‘All Arias’ festival, which seeks out new forms of musical theatre.
21 March 2023
3-year Balancing the Score Residency announced
Glyndebourne Opera
Lucy Armstrong and Alex Ho have been selected to take part in Glyndebourne’s Balancing the Score programme, which supports composers from backgrounds currently underrepresented in the world of operatic composition. This part-time residency will begin this month and last for three years, during which Armstrong and Ho will be mentored by Glyndebourne’s Artistic Director Stephen Langridge.
10 February 2023
Untold wins FEDORA Opera Prize 2023
Opera Europa, O. Festival Rotterdam
Since 2013, the FEDORA Prizes encourage the next generation of talent to bring the unexpected to the stage. The four established prizes (Opera, Dance, Education and Digital) support cutting-edge artistic projects that promote international collaboration, creativity, social integration and intercultural dialogue, as well as digital innovation on and beyond the stage.
26 January 2023
Tangram shortlisted for RPS Young Artist Award
Royal Philharmonic Society
The Royal Philharmonic Society Awards celebrate classical musicians nationwide, shining a light on brilliant individuals, groups and initiatives inspiring communities across the UK. Featuring star soloists, local heroes and amateur musicians, this year’s shortlists reflect the far-reaching and resounding impact that classical music has nationally.
22 September 2022
Untold (anti-)opera nominated for FEDORA Opera Prize
Opera Europa, O. Festival Rotterdam
On 22 September 2023, on the occasion of the 59th Golden Prague International Television Festival in Prague, in Czech Republic, the FEDORA Platform announced the 12 nominated projects for the FEDORA Prizes Biennale. These innovative projects in the fields of opera and dance involve 48 cultural organisations and partners from 13 countries, with the participations of over 50 collaborating lead artists.
22 September 2022
Séisme opera nominated for FEDORA Digital Prize
Opera Europa, Montpellier National Opera
On 22 September 2023, on the occasion of the 59th Golden Prague International Television Festival in Prague, in Czech Republic, the FEDORA Platform announced the 12 nominated projects for the FEDORA Prizes Biennale. These innovative projects in the fields of opera and dance involve 48 cultural organisations and partners from 13 countries, with the participations of over 50 collaborating lead artists.
1 September 2022
General management signing announced
Intermusica
We are delighted to announce that British-Chinese composer and performer Alex Ho has joined Intermusica as part of our mentoring initiative.
25 August 2022
Tangram appointed Associate Artists at LSO St Luke's
London Symphony Orchestra
The LSO are delighted to announce that Tangram have been appointed Associate Artists at LSO St Luke’s for the next three seasons. Andra East, Head of LSO Discovery said: 'It’s a delight to be able to support artists whose work has grown from the LSO’s composer development programmes and to support the evolution of their work to the next stage. We are looking forward to Tangram’s fresh and imaginative contribution to programming at LSO St Luke’s.'
9 August 2022
RPS Drummond Fund awarded
Royal Philharmonic Society
As long as there has been music, there has been dance. The Royal Philharmonic Society is proud to help composers and choreographers bring exciting new works to life, through the RPS Drummond Fund. Recognising the increasing challenge and expense of staging dance with live music, we hope the Fund will enable practitioners to activate plans that may not otherwise have been possible, making a difference to their progress and profile.
17 June 2022
Latest two operas shortlisted at FEDORA Prize Biennale
Opera Europa, O. Festival Rotterdam, Montpellier National Opera
On the occasion of an announcement event in Prague during Opera Europa's Spring Conference, we are happy to announce 38 shortlisted projects (13 opera, 8 dance, 8 education, and 9 digital projects) for the FEDORA Prizes Biennale, originating from 29 countries and involving 124 cultural organisations and partners and involving over 190 artists for the 8th edition of the FEDORA Prizes.
19 May 2022
PRS Composer Fund Awarded
PRS Foundation, Jerwood Arts
Together with Jerwood Arts, the leading independent funder for early-career UK artists, curators and producers, we’re delighted to announce that the latest talented composers to receive the ground-breaking Composers’ Fund.
11 May 2022
Young Talent Composer Award
UK Critics' Circle
Alex Ho is an exciting composer who has had a determinedly creative lockdown, putting out valuable works and winning major commissions at a difficult time. He combines a coherent individual voice with a breadth of styles, genres and instrumental disciplines, all fired by the spark of his imagination, combining his Chinese heritage and Western Classical form in a compelling and individual way.
6 May 2022
New Associate Composer 2022-23: Alex Ho
Oxford Lieder Festival
We are delighted to announce British-Chinese composer Alex Ho as our Associate Composer for the next two years. During this time, he will compose two major song cycles for the 2022 and 2023 Oxford Lieder Festivals. The Festivals will also feature a number of his existing works.
7 April 2022
BBC Radio 3 interview
BBC Free Thinking, China: World Politics, Ink Art and Insomnia
In the spirit of better understanding the rich artistic traditions and cultural history of China, we hear from three researchers about the latest thinking on Hong Kong ink art, representations of sleep, Chinese identity and contemporary classical music and insomnia from the cultural revolution to the present day.
18 March 2022
Rising Star BBC Feature
BBC Music Magazine
Dream concert: I would love to write a double concerto for pipa and yangqin for the incredible Wu Man and Reylon Yount. Chinese instruments are epic and I wish more people in Western classical music knew about them.
2 February 2022
Review: Tangram a "dazzling instrumental display"
I CARE IF YOU LISTEN
This week marks the Lunar New Year of the Tiger, and Tangram, a collective of musicians of Chinese heritage, celebrated on 29 January at LSO St Luke’s in London. The stage setting gave us a taster of what was to come: a Steinway grand, yangqin, an array of gongs, temple blocks, and a marimba, an electric guitar, water-filled dishes, and rice bowls on a piano stool. The eclectic programme and colourful lighting created an atmosphere more like a festival than a concert.
1 February 2022
Snape Maltings Residency Artists announced
Britten-Pears Arts
Britten Pears Arts are thrilled to be supporting composer Alex Ho and director/choreographer Julia Cheng once more on developing their (anti-)opera, 'Untold'. Alex and Julia began their creative collaboration for 'Untold' in 2019 at Snape Maltings and we are delighted to see how their production has continued to expand with exciting plans for 2023.
29 January 2022
Choral album released
NYCGB, NMC Recordings
In this partnership with National Youth Choirs of Great Britain we present choral works by four talented young composers; Kristina Arakelyan, Anna Disley-Simpson, Alex Ho, and Derri Joseph Lewis. Their work explores a broad range of themes including 'coming out' as LGBTQ+, the natural environment, racial identity, love, and connection.
28 January 2022
Royal Opera House announces recitals
ROH, Opera Wire
The Royal Opera House has announced a new program of lunchtime recitals for the Spring season. The focus will be on vocal offerings including the world premiere of Letters from Home performed by Jia Huang and Satoshi Kubo
22 January 2022
Review: "spiky, menacing and poetic"
NYCGB, Fiona Maddocks, The Guardian
Despite the no-choral-singing strictures of lockdown, the National Youth Choir of Great Britain has inspired nine striking new pieces by their four rising-star composers. For Alex Ho, British Chinese and based in London, the racial harassment faced by the UK’s south-east and east Asian communities has prompted Hush, spiky, menacing and poetic.
24 September 2021
LPO Young Composers announced
London Philharmonic Orchestra
The LPO Young Composers Programme offers emerging composers the opportunity to workshop a new piece with the Orchestra's musicians across a year, leading to a public performance at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, showcasing the new works.
14 September 2021
Artist-in-Residence announced
Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier
C’est la saison dernière, lors de l’atelier Paroles et Musique mené par Ted Huffman et Sivan Eldar, que s’est constitué ce trio de jeunes créateurs : Alex Ho, compositeur - Franciska Éry, metteuse en scène et Ar Guens Jean Mary, écrivain performeur L’Opéra Orchestre les invite cette saison en résidence pour développer les projets initiés en 2020/21.
13 September 2021
Tangram recipients of Kickstarter £10k grant
Genesis Foundation
The Genesis Foundation has announced 19 new recipients of Genesis Kickstart Fund grants for arts projects run by creative freelancers throughout the UK. The grants have been allocated from the £1m Genesis Kickstart Fund, rolled out on the Foundation’s 20th anniversary with the aim of enabling outstanding freelance talent to produce future-facing arts projects.
1 September 2021
Breathe and Draw featured at ReConnect
British Council, UK-China Contemporary Culture Festival
The 2021 UK China Contemporary Culture festival features work by leading British art and cultural organisations and artists. Online and face to face events will seek to use the transformative power of the arts to inspire audiences to consider our shared global challenges such as humanity’s relationship with the natural environment.
6 August 2021
Introducing the 2021-22 RPS Composers
Royal Philharmonic Society, Manchester Camerata
We are pleased to announce the seven composers newly joining the 2021-22 RPS Composers programme, representing some of the brightest, most exciting voices in the UK. RPS General Manager, Robin Sheffield, says: ‘We are thrilled to welcome this group of composers to the 2021-22 RPS Composers programme. Each one of them shows such exciting promise and we’re delighted not only to support them in their next steps, but also for them to draw on each others’ own individual diverse backgrounds and experience.
15 June 2021
Breathe and Draw shortlisted for Scottish New Music Award
Nevis Ensemble
VoxCarnyx is now delighted to be associated with the Scottish Awards for New Music in their fifth year of recognising innovation and creativity, and today we can exclusively reveal the shortlisted projects for the 13 awards this year.
29 March 2021
Sound Generator Artists announced
Sound UK
A new artist development programme, Sound Generator supports early career artists and the work they present. A panel of judges, including leading figures across contemporary music, chose six artists working at the forefront of sound and music.
13 March 2021
Say Hi: Programme notes
London Sinfonietta, Sound Out, Royal Festival Hall
This special live streamed concert will bring together young people from across the UK to explore how to compose and create music, hear our musicians perform pieces by living composers and be the first audience to hear new works by young people who have taken part in our Composition Challenges. Everyone is also invited to take part in a special distanced performance of Alex Ho’s Say Hi during the live stream.
17 February 2021
Tangram Announced as Awardees of £20k Live Work Fund
Jerwood Arts
Together with the Wolfson Foundation, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and The Linbury Trust, Jerwood Arts are delighted to announce the 33 awardees of their new funding programme, the Live Work Fund. Through an artist focussed decision making process, 33 of some of the most visionary early-career music creators, performance makers and producers have been chosen to receive £20,000 each to develop their practice, allowing them to adapt and thrive through the challenges presented by Covid-19.
13 February 2021
NYCGB Announces 2021 Young Composers
National Youth Choirs of Great Britain
National Youth Choirs of Great Britain (NYCGB) has today announced the eight emerging musicians selected for its 2021 Young Composers and Fellowship programmes. The schemes each offer a fully funded, year-long programme of unique professional development opportunities to emerging professionals from a diverse range of backgrounds and musical genres.
30 November 2020
little twinkle broadcast
Commissioned by BBC Radio 3
Part of the BBC cross-platform virtual arts festival Culture in Quarantine, providing cultural content to audiences in their homes at a time of lockdown, Radio 3 has asked composers to respond to the current world-wide health crisis, and to the changes and worries resulting from it, with short musical messages of hope. The station has commissioned the artists to write 30-second pieces for solo instrumentalists.
13 November 2020
Meet the Creators: Alex Ho
National Opera Studio
We caught up with composer Alex Ho about his new work Above the White Island which, in collaboration with 2019/20 Young Artist Shengzhi Ren and librettist Theophilus Kwek, will be premiered on the National Opera Studio’s YouTube channel alongside the documentary.
24 August 2020
"A rich tapestry" - Review of Untold
Schmopera
This was a piece that did not feel as though it existed musically as a complete score but more so in the gathering of people together, in the physicality of the performance space, and in the unknowable magic that occurs in the moment of performance itself...a collaborative tale of pride and grace.
01 June 2020
New Piece for Riot Ensemble
Crossroads Festival, Salzburg
16 composers have been selected to compose for and participate in Crossroads Festival and its events, held at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg on 5-7th of November, 2020.
13 May 2020
11 new commissions announced
Nevis Ensemble
Artistically-led by Holly Mathieson and Jon Hargreaves, Nevis Ensemble will commission 11 composers to write new works as part of its online activity whilst live orchestral performances are unable to take place. Alex Ho has been commissioned to write a new work premiering in late summer 2020, involving members of the orchestra as well as the general public as part of the Nevis Living Room Ensemble project.
30 April 2020
George Butterworth Award 2020: Winner announced
Sound and Music
The George Butterworth Award is awarded annually to a UK-based composer, for an outstanding new work created through one of Sound and Music’s Artist Development Programmes. We’re delighted to announce that this year’s winner of the £1,500 award is Alex Ho, for his work Untold.
30 April 2020
HOME announces additional commissioning partners
Music Theatre Wales and London Sinfonietta
Music Theatre Wales and London Sinfonietta are partnering on the creation of an entirely new piece of music theatre for screen-based audiences, bringing together two artists: composer Alex Ho and theatre maker Elayce Ismail.
28 February 2020
Rituals and Resonances EP Release
nonclassical, Outside the Lines
Meet our favourite emerging artists. The third edition of Nonclassical's annual series of EPs 'Outside the Lines' brings together work by our four Associate Composers for 2019–20, alongside a piece by Alex Ho and performed by the winner of Nonclassical's Battle of the Bands in 2020, Reylon.
07 February 2020
Radio Feature and Interview on Late Lunch Show
Soho Radio, Max Reinhardt
Max arrives at Soho Radio from his dozen years as a regular presenter of BBC Radio 3’s night time classic show Late Junction. This new live Friday lunchtime show from the heart of Soho turns out to be what’s been missing from his life, filled with an astonishing variety of guests and a playlist for the musically curious. Catch Alex Ho and his music live from the studio (9:30-1:30:05).
04 February 2020
In Significance: Introductory notes
LSO Soundhub, London Symphony Orchestra
After a sell-out Phase I showcase, composer Alex Ho gives us an insight into his new piece In Significance ahead of its premiere at the LSO Soundhub Phase II showcase on Saturday 15 February.
18 December 2019
LSO composers tell us about a night of new music
LSO St. Luke's, Tangram
Following a sold-out debut in January 2019, artist collective Tangram return on 25 January to interweave folk melodies with brand new compositions. We caught up with composers Raymond Yiu, Jasmin Kent Rodgman and Alex Ho – all LSO composers of past and present – to find out more about the music we'll hear on Lunar New Year.
04 November 2019
Article: Transnational Identity in Opera
British Music Collection
In this blog, British-Chinese composer and Sound and Music New Voices 2018 composer Alex Ho introduces Tan Dun’s ‘Ghost Opera’ (1994) in relation to locating Chinese diasporic identity.
01 November 2019
Rituals and Resonances on New Ratio Podcast
Nick Luscombe
Nick Luscombe selects tracks from performers Sugai Ken, Carl Stone and Masanori Oishi ahead of the Experimental Session on Sunday 3rd November 2019, part of this Autumn's BBC Proms in Japan events. This programme also features words and music from London-based composer Alex Ho (from 25'20'') about his event in Hackney on 5th November 2019.
06 September 2019
LSO Soundhub Phase II Commission
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is delighted to announce the two composers who continue onto the next phase of LSO Soundhub. Alex Ho and Sun Keting both took part in 2018/19 LSO Soundhub Phase I, and now continue on a further year, developing new work for a showcase on Saturday 15 February 2020.
02 September 2019
Full scholarship for doctoral studies awarded
Royal College of Music, AHRC London Arts and Humanities Partnership
The London Arts and Humanities Partnership (LAHP) is an AHRC-funded Doctoral Training Partnership which brings together eight leading research institutions. The LAHP offers a unique doctoral research environment with a wide range of training opportunities and activities.
04 August 2019
"Vibrant and Mercurial" - Review of Upon Brick
Louder than War
The release is part of a wider initiative; the Culture Mile, the “new home for contemporary culture in the ancient heart of London’s working capital”. The tape is a superb listen, as with other Musicity releases, one that grows over time.
30 July 2019
Commission for percussion and plastic bags
Totally Thames Festival, Tower Bridge
Following last year’s sell out concert series, composer/curator Iain Chambers brings new music and poetry to Tower Bridge’s huge Bascule Chamber. These unmissable, atmospheric concerts provide a unique way of experiencing one of Victorian engineering's greatest feats.
05 July 2019
Spiralling Scrolls: Introductory notes
LSO Soundhub, London Symphony Orchestra
Discover Alex Ho, one of the four composers on the LSO Soundhub Scheme 2019, as he gives us an insight into his composition Spiralling Scrolls ahead of its premiere on Saturday 20 July.
04 July 2019
"A perfect combination" - ...chinese whispers... BBC Broadcast
BBC Late Junction, BBC Radio 3
Journeys in music, ancient to future. The home for adventurous listeners. Max Reinhardt presents another chance to hear the Late Junction mixtape from sound artist, writer and composer David Toop. Hear Alex Ho's ...chinese whispers... on BBC Late Junction (3'17''-11'00'').
11 June 2019
Fusion Fund awarded
Help Musicians UK
Ten inspiring new collaborative projects by UK musicians have been funded by the first 2019 round of Help Musicians UK’s Fusion Fund.
15 May 2019
"A remarkable experience" - Review of Dreaming Clouds
Schmopera, Second Movement
This piece was the least operatic of the night but by far the most emotionally engaged performance...the piece felt very improvisational, almost as if we were witnessing the process of something coming into existence which was a remarkable experience. Perhaps it is time to cast form aside entirely and explore where it is headed for the future.
02 May 2019
Commission for Sound Unbound Festival, Barbican Centre
Musicity x Culture Mile
Musicity x Culture Mile encourages a musical and architectural exploration. Ten artists have created individual new tracks in response to a building, area or aspect of the city that inspires them, exploring the intrinsic connection between architecture and sound.
23 January 2019
"A visceral world of colour" - Rituals and Resonances
nonclassical, Battle of the Bands
Congratulations to yangqin player Reylon for his winning performance of Alex Ho's Rituals and Resonances at Battle of the Bands on 23 January! The performance was outstanding, leaving both the audiences and judges speechless and earning him top place at this year’s Battle of the Bands.
19 December 2018
...chinese whispers... on Incipitsify
Score Follower
Score Follower strives to provide access to contemporary music for all. Through our activities, we also aim to strengthen, diversify, and connect our musical community. By respecting our community and representing our field as well as we can, Score Follower aims to be a new kind of informational resource and center for the online community.
14 October 2018
50 Things: Rituals and Resonances
British Music Collection
#BMC50 Things is a series of short blogs, to be published throughout 2018, that will offer a bold new perspective on the recent history of new music in the UK. #BMC50 Things will help build a rich picture of the backgrounds, practices and diverse perspectives that have shaped the landscape of new music in the UK.
29 August 2018
New composers appointed to LSO Soundhub
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is delighted to announce the appointment of six new composers to its LSO Soundhub and LSO Jerwood Composer+ programmes, and two composers who continue onto the next phase of LSO Soundhub.
19 June 2018
New Voices 2018 announced
Sound and Music
Sound and Music is delighted to announce the 15 composers and creative artists who will be its 2018 New Voices, and the first group to go through this brand new artist development programme.
25 May 2018
Article: Rituals and Resonances x Race and Resistance
The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH) - University of Oxford
The Race and Resistance programme, part of the Oxford University's TORCH network, brings together researchers, students, and activists in the history, literature, and culture of anti-racist movements across the modern world.
8 January 2018
2017 Bliss Prize in Composition
University of Cambridge
The Faculty of Music is delighted to announce that Alex Ho is the winner of the 2017 Bliss Prize for Composition.
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