Bio
OWEN HO is a composer and conductor. Praised as “highly imaginative and interesting”, he is the first-prize winner of the AESS Song Writing Competition for Composers 2019 and a winner of the Arcubus Ensemble Call for Scores 2020. His interdisciplinary work, Romantic Remnants, has been commissioned by the Bloomsbury Festival 2020 (London) and funded by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council. Previously, he received honourable mention in the IOCSF Choral Composition Competition 2016 and was a finalist in the Hendrix College Candlelight Carol Competition 2016. Published by the UCLA Music Library, Goodmusic Publishing Ltd., and listed on the CoMA Library, his music has been performed across the UK, Europe, and Hong Kong. With the support of MusicFest Bursary, he also participated in MusicFest Aberystwyth 2019. His current musical interest lies in the manifestations of romanticism in contemporary music.
Equally active as a conductor, Owen directs the Goodensemble Orchestra, a cross-conservatoire orchestra in central London with whom he presents 4 concerts per season. Major highlights include annual concerts with the Bloomsbury Festival, performing orchestral works such as Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde amongst others. He is also the Founding Artistic Director of Ensemble Matters, a group specialising in the 20th-century repertoire and beyond. He also hosted the London Conductors’ Salon 2019 where musician-conductors gathered to discuss scores and conducting issues. Previously, he was an Assistant Conductor of the Hong Kong Southern District Orchestra as well as a guest conductor on various other occasions.
Recently, Owen has been awarded a place for a Doctor of Music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Julian Anderson. Previously, he graduated with a Master of Music (Distinction) from the Royal College of Music under the generous support of the Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence Scheme. His principal teachers were Kenneth Hesketh (composition), Howard Williams (conducting), Michael Oliva (electroacoustic music), and Michael Ladouceur (film music). He obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Music with First Class Honours from the University of Hong Kong and was a recipient of numerous prizes and scholarships in recognition of his academic excellence, including the Foundation Scholarship for Outstanding Students, HKU Faculty of Arts Dean’s Honours List, Hong Kong Children’s Choir Scholarship, Bernard Van Zuiden Prize, Rayson Huang Scholarship in Music, Jao Yu Tsong Memorial Prize in Music, Run Run Shaw Scholarship, and Prof. Robert Lord Memorial Prize in Music.
Owen is also grateful to the financial support of Macfarlane Walker Trust 2020, Goodenough College Bursary 2019 - 2021, and GSMD Financial Award 2020.