Alice Ping Yee Ho

Alice Ping Yee Ho is among Canada's most prominent composers. Her works have been performed widely in Canada, the U.S., and Europe. Alice Ping Yee Ho (sometimes Alice Ho) was born in Hong Kong in 1960. She attended the University of Indiana, studying with John Eaton and earning a bachelor's degree in composition with high distinction. Ho went on to the University of Toronto, earning a master's degree in composition. Her other major composition teachers include Brian Ferneyhough. She remained active as a pianist and performed a solo recital on the CBC 2 radio network. Ho is married to composer and educator Chan Ka Nin, and the couple lives in Toronto. Ho's works are eclectic, drawing on such varied sources as contemporary styles, Chinese opera and folk music, Japanese taiko drum music, jazz, and pop. She has composed three operas, including one for children, The Monkiest King, and all have been recorded; Chinatown appeared on Leaf Music in a production by the Vancouver City Opera in 2023. Ho's works have been performed by many groups around Canada, including the Toronto Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, and Winnipeg Symphony, and beyond, including the Polish Radio Choir, the Lapland Chamber Orchestra, the Ellerhein Girls' Choir in Estonia (now the Estonian Symphony Chamber Choir), and the China National Symphony Orchestra in Beijing. Her works have won various awards, including those at the International League of Women Composers Competition, the du Maurier Arts Ltd. Canadian Composers Competition, and the Boston Metro Opera International Composition Competition. As of the mid-2020s, more than 20 of Ho's compositions have been recorded, and various albums devoted to her music have been released. These include Ming, devoted to her percussion music and featuring the Penderecki String Quartet. Albums of Ho's music have appeared on the Centrediscs, Naxos, and Marquis Classics, among other labels, and she has been nominated twice for JUNO awards in 2015 and 2018.
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