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Ai Horton

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About Ai

Currently based in The Netherlands, Canadian-Japanese soprano Ai Horton is praised for her vulnerability and versatility as a performer. With a particular interest in historical-performance practice, her varied concert repertoire spans several centuries and includes Medieval plainchant, music of the French Baroque, the works of J.S. Bach, and German Lieder of the Romantic era. Ai also regularly performers contemporary works such as Luciano Berio's sound documentary: A-Ronne for eight amplified voices, and appeared was a vocalist for the 2022 Young Composer’s Meeting with the Orkest de Ereprijs (NL). Professional highlights include Handel’s Messiah with Bach on the Rock (CAN), Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu Nostri with Dutch Baroque, Rameau’s Quam Dilecta Tabernacula broadcast on Radio West (NL), and a concert of Telemann solo cantatas with violinist Marc Destrubé (CAN).   An avid supporter of civic engagement initiatives, Ai aims to create community and belonging through shared musical experience as both a performer and an educator. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Ai was a featured artist in Pacific Opera Victoria’s Opera Etc. programs, performing in numerous “Pop-up Operas” (short performances in outdoor public spaces) and recording virtual concerts that were distributed to senior care facilities. Ai also worked with the company to produce "Tenebris": a video presentation using Pergolesi's Stabat Mater to tell a personal story of struggle with mental health. Her current project—"Laments for a Modern World"—comprises a set of four unique pieces that she herself composed with influence from 17th-century Laments, featuring newly-commissioned texts that amplify modern-day stories of race relations, miscarriage, struggles with mental health, and displacement from one’s homeland.   Ai completed a Master in Early Music Vocal Studies as a Holland/Excellence Scholar at the Royal Conservatoire The Hague, where she developed an interactive musical murder-mystery, "Who killed Lydia Peabody?", for her final presentation, using a framework of early music compositions in which each instrumentalists served as a suspect in the investigation. She also holds a Bachelor of Music in Secondary Music Education and Voice from the University of Victoria. Ai was a 2023 Next Generation Artist with Early Music Vancouver for their festival “Women in Sight”. She can regularly be seen singing as a chorister with top Dutch vocal ensembles including Cappella Amsterdam, the Groot Omroepkoor, and Consensus Vocalis.

Concerts

06/01/2025 | 13:30

Zeewijk Passion

WORLD PREMIERE

"In 1727, the VOC-ship Zeewijk is wrecked off the coast of Western Australia. While the crew builds a new boat to escape, two teenage boys are sentenced to death – banished to deserted rocks because they were in love with each other. They could see each other, but never reach each other again. It was the first time in Australia that corporal punishment was imposed for a queer act." Composed by Lydia Gardiner, the Zeewijk Passion explores the complex social situations behind this tragic event. (Scheepvaartmuseum, Amsterdam, NL)

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06/04/2025 | 10:20

Bach op de Boerderij

Cantate Karavaan

Soloist with CantateKaravaan for the educational program "Bach op de Boerderij, under the direction of Rutger Mauritz (Nieuwe Kerk, Zierikzee, NL)

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06/04/2025 | 09:00

Bach op de Boerderij

Cantate Karavaan

Soloist with CantateKaravaan for the educational program "Bach op de Boerderij, under the direction of Rutger Mauritz (Nieuwe Kerk, Zierikzee, NL)

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06/04/2025 | 11:40

Bach op de Boerderij

Cantate Karavaan

Soloist with CantateKaravaan for the educational program "Bach op de Boerderij, under the direction of Rutger Mauritz (Nieuwe Kerk, Zierikzee, NL)

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06/05/2025 | 10:20

Bach op de Boerderij

Cantate Karavaan

Soloist with CantateKaravaan for the educational program "Bach op de Boerderij, under the direction of Rutger Mauritz (De Hollandse Hoeve, Goes, NL)

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06/05/2025 | 11:40

Bach op de Boerderij

Cantate Karavaan

Soloist with CantateKaravaan for the educational program "Bach op de Boerderij, under the direction of Rutger Mauritz (De Hollandse Hoeve, Goes, NL)

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06/05/2025 | 09:00

Bach op de Boerderij

Cantate Karavaan

Soloist with CantateKaravaan for the educational program "Bach op de Boerderij, under the direction of Rutger Mauritz (De Hollandse Hoeve, Goes, NL)

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06/13/2025 | 20:15

Elgar: The dream of Gerontius

Groot Omroepkoor and Radio Filharmonisch Orkest

Chorister with the Groot Omroepkoor for Edgar Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius, under the direction of Karina Canellakis (TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht, NL)

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06/20/2025 | 20:15

Wainwright: Dream Requiem

DUTCH PREMIERE

Chorister for the Dutch Premiere of Rufus Wainwright's "Dream Requiem", under the direction of Andre de Ridder (Het Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, NL)

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07/04/2025 | 20:00

Verses Along the Way

Cecilia International Choir of The Hague

Soloist with Cecilia International Choir of The Hague, under the direction of Sanda Audere (Lutherse Kerk, The Hague, NL)

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Photos

Ai Horton in a dark green concert dress looking at the camera.
Ai Horton and Elana Cooper with her violin looking up in front of a brick wall.
Ai Horton with a white top looking to the top right off camera.

Media

"Zeffiretti, lusinghieri"

from Idomeneo, by W.A. Mozart

Ai Horton - soprano, and Carolien Drewes - piano

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