Sandman's Castle: The Solo and Duo Works of Vincent Ho Dame Evelyn Glennie, Vicky Chow, Ben Reimer, Susanne Ruberg-Gordon, Beth Root Sandvoss, Bright Sheng

• Vincent Ho (b. 1975): Nostalgia:
• 1 Ho: Nostalgia 05:34
• 3 Preludes:
• 2 Ho: 3 Preludes: No. 1, Morning Song 03:49
• 3 Ho: 3 Preludes: No. 2, Fleeting Memories 03:56
• 4 Ho: 3 Preludes: No. 3, Heist 02:22
• Supervillain Études:
• 5 Ho: Supervillain Études: I. R1ddler 02:56
• 6 Ho: Supervillain Études: II. 2-Face 03:47
• 7 Ho: Supervillain Études: III. P3nguin 01:50
• 8 Ho: Supervillain Études: IV. C4twoman 03:52
• 9 Ho: Supervillain Études: V. Poi5on Ivy 04:32
• 10 Ho: Supervillain Études: VI. J6ker 05:04
• Sandman's Castle:
• 11 Ho: Sandman's Castle 13:17
• Kickin' It:
• 12 Ho: Kickin' It: I. Twister 04:30
• 13 Ho: Kickin' It: II. Filigree 06:12
• 14 Ho: Kickin' It: III. Cadenza 01:43
• 15 Ho: Kickin' It: IV. Burn 06:02
• Total Runtime 01:09:26

Info for Sandman's Castle: The Solo and Duo Works of Vincent Ho

From natural scenes of beauty to mystical dreamscapes and vivid characters of villainy, a dynamic assortment of music awaits in SANDMAN’S CASTLE from composer Vincent Ho. A compendium of uniquely-orchestrated and masterfully executed solo and duo works are brought to life from a roster of renowned performers: Vicky Chow, Susanne Ruberg-Gordon, Ben Reimer, Beth Root Sandvoss, and Evelyn Glennie, who serves as a listener’s guide on a mystical journey into the world of dreams in the albums titular track. Between explorations of uncharted territories with tam-tam and music boxes and thoughtful juxtapositions of the drumset with mainstays in classical music, Ho pulls out all of the stops with the renowned featured performers, and his dexterous compositional tool-kit throughout.

Dame Evelyn Glennie, percussion
Vicky Chow, piano
Ben Reimer, drum kit
Susanne Ruberg-Gordon, piano
Beth Root Sandvoss, cello

Vincent Ho
is a multi-award winning composer of orchestral, chamber, vocal, and theatre music. His works have been described as “brilliant and compelling” by The New York Times and hailed for their profound expressiveness and textural beauty, leaving audiences talking about them with great enthusiasm. His many awards and recognitions have included three Juno Award nominations, Harvard University’s Fromm Music Commission, The Canada Council for the Arts’ “Robert Fleming Prize”, ASCAP’s “Morton Gould Young Composer Award”, four SOCAN Young Composers Awards, and CBC Radio’s Audience Choice Award (2009 Young Composers’ Competition).

During the period of 2007-2014, Dr. Ho has served as the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s composer-in-residence and had presented a number of large-scale works that have generated much excitement and 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 as “Spectacular” (The New York Classical Review), “A powerhouse work” (The Winnipeg Free Press), and “Rocking/mesmerizing…downright gorgeous” (The Pittsburgh Gazette). His second concerto for Glennie titled From Darkness To Light, Ho’s musical response to the cancer illness, was lauded as “a lasting masterpiece of sensitivity and perception” (Winnipeg Free Press). His cello concerto, City Suite, composed for Canadian cellist Shauna Rolston, has received similar praise with critics calling it “Thrilling” (Windsor Star) and “Overflowing with striking ideas…The most successful piece heard at this year’s Festival” (Classical Voice America).

Born in Ottawa, Ontario in 1975, Vincent Ho began his musical training through Canada’s Royal Conservatory of Music where he earned his Associate Diploma in Piano Performance. He gained his Bachelor of Music from the University of Calgary, his Master of Music from the University of Toronto, and his Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Southern California. His mentors have included Allan Bell, David Eagle, Christos Hatzis, Walter Buczynski, and Stephen Hartke. In 1997, he was awarded a scholarship to attend the Schola Cantorum Summer Composition Program in Paris, where he received further training in analysis, composition, counterpoint, and harmony, supervised by David Diamond, Philip Lasser, and Narcis Bonet.

In his free time, he enjoys running, reading, traveling, dancing, hiking, playing chess, and learning the keyboard works of Bach, Beethoven, Ravel, and Ligeti (among many others). He is also an enthusiast of old-time radio shows, photography, crime noir, Zen art, jazz, Jimi Hendrix, graphic novels, and Stanley Kubrick films.

Dr. Ho has taught at the University of Calgary and currently serves as Artistic Director to Land’s End Ensemble and New Music Advisor to the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. His works are published and managed by Promethean Editions Ltd and Peters Edition.

This album contains no booklet.