Assistant Conductor, Naples Philharmonic
Described as “a thoughtful musician, extremely well prepared and meticulous in his approach” by the late Bernard Haitink, Alvin Ho, native of Hong Kong, recently completed his two-season tenure as assistant conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and was the first prize winner of the 2022 Princess Astrid International Conducting Competition in Trondheim, Norway. Previously, he served as assistant conductor at the Indiana Opera and Ballet Theatre from 2017 to 2020.
He has worked internationally with orchestras throughout Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States, including the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Jena Philharmonic, Lucerne Festival Strings, Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini and Cabrillo Festival Orchestra.
Alvin 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 Donatella Flick London Symphony Orchestra Conducting Competition.
Beyond the symphonic podium, Alvin has also worked extensively on the operatic stage. In March 2022, Alvin was assistant conductor in the world premiere of the chamber orchestra version of Jonathan Dove's Flight in Scotland; in 2019, he was assistant conductor in Wagner’s Parsifal at Indiana Opera; and in 2018, he conducted Verdi’s Macbeth in concert form at the Ravenna Festival, under the mentorship of Riccardo Muti. Alvin has worked with renowned singers including Riccardo Zanellato, Kristinn Sigmundsson, Mark Delavan and Vittoria Yeo. He has also conducted ballet performances at Indiana Ballet Theatre.
Alvin enjoys a close working relationship with Red Note Contemporary Music Ensemble, a leader of the genre in the U.K. Together they have performed a diverse palette of contemporary works such as Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire, Ligeti’s Kammerkonzert, John Adams’ Shaker Loops and Gérard Grisey’s Vortex Temporum. Previously, Alvin has presented world premieres at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and conducted Ari Fisher's film score for Indiana University, a video that has been seen on major U.S. national news channels.
As a keen educator, Alvin 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. He also guest conducted the Empire State Youth Orchestra, the largest of its kind in the U.S., and worked with other young musicians from Western Illinois University, Wabash Valley Youth Orchestra and Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Alvin founded the Chinese University of Hong Kong Student Orchestra that brings opportunities for non-music major students to play and listen to classical symphonic music. The ensemble still runs to this day and makes significant impact on the community.
Alvin studied primarily with Arthur Fagen, Riccardo Muti and Bernard Haitink. He has also worked with Garry Walker, Nicolás Pasquet, Neeme Järvi and Thomas Wilkins. He holds a master’s degree in orchestral conducting from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music.