New Music Festival - Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra

CONDUCTORS & COMPOSERS
Alexander Mickelthwate, Music Director
Recognized as one of the most exciting
young conductors of his generation,
Alexander Mickelthwate is in his sixth season
as Music Director of the Winnipeg Symphony
Orchestra, where he has significantly raised
the ensemble’s profile through innovative
programming and active community
engagement. Praised for his “splendid, richly
idiomatic readings” (LA Weekly), “fearless” approach and “firstrate
technique” (Los Angeles Times), the German-born conductor
has attracted attention for his charismatic presence on the
podium and command of a wide range of musical styles.
In August 2007, Alexander culminated his three-year tenure as
Associate Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with which
he appeared regularly at Walt Disney Concert Hall and at the
Hollywood Bowl. Previously as Assistant Conductor with the
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, he co-founded the new music
ensemble Bent Frequency, which was hailed as "one of the
brightest ensembles on the scene” (Gramophone Magazine).
Recent highlights include debuts with the Houston Symphony,
the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, the Johannesburg
Philharmonic and the Bukarest Philharmonic, a re-engagement
with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa and a highly
successful last-minute replacement with the St. Paul Chamber
Orchestra. As guest conductor, Alexander has appeared with the
New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Royal Scottish
National Orchestra, Hamburg Symphony, NDR Hannover, as well
as with symphony orchestras in several Canadian and U.S. cities.
Richard Lee, Resident Conductor
From the time his mother sat him
down at a toy piano when he was three
years old, Richard Lee has spent his life
immersed in music. He graduated to a
real piano at the age of five and took up
the violin at age seven. At age seventeen,
he passed – with honours – the grade X
piano and violin exams at the Royal
Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
Richard pursued a degree in Music Performance at the
University of Toronto as both a violinist and a violist while
studying conducting. After five years, Richard obtained a
Master’s degree under the tutelage of Raffi Armenian.
Formerly conductor-in-residence of the Thunder Bay
Symphony Orchestra and assistant conductor of the Quebec
Symphony Orchestra, Richard is currently resident conductor of
the WSO, conductor of the University of Manitoba Symphony
Orchestra, as well as music director of the Korean Canadian
Symphony Orchestra, based in Toronto. Guest engagements this
season include the orchestras of the National Arts Centre
(Ottawa), East Texas, Hamilton and Quebec. His work has been
broadcast and recorded by the CBC/Radio-Canada. Musician,
news junkie and connoisseur of fine ales, whiskies and cigars,
Richard maintains residences in both Winnipeg and Toronto.
6 OVERTURE I January – February 2012
Vincent Ho, Composer-in-Residence
Vincent Ho is widely
recognized as one of the most
outstanding composers of his
generation. His works have been
hailed for their profound
expressiveness and textural
beauty that has audiences talking
about with great enthusiasm. His
many awards have included 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).
Born in Ottawa, Ontario in 1975, Vincent Ho
began his musical training through the Royal
Conservatory of Music. He received his Associate
Diploma in Piano Performance from the Royal
Conservatory of Music (Toronto) in 1993, his
Bachelor of Music from the University of Calgary
in 1998, his Master of Music degree from the
University of Toronto in 2000, and his Doctor of
Musical Arts degree from the University of
Southern California (2005). 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.
Matthew Patton, New Music Festival
Artistic Associate
Matthew Patton is a graduate
in music composition from the
Manhattan School of Music in
New York City. His composition
teachers have included studies
with composers James Tenney
and John Corigliano. Matthew
has collaborated with such
internationally acclaimed artists as choreographer
Paul Taylor, and most recently with film director
Guy Maddin. He has worked with Icelandic musicians
including members of Sigur Ros’ string players
Amiina, members of Mum, and others. His collaborative
work has been called “a masterpiece for our time”
by the New York Times, been mounted in new
productions at the Paris Opera House and the
La Scala Opera House, produced for PBS “Great
Performances,” and has been released by Warner
Brothers label Nonesuch Records.