Society of Peabody Alumni
Citation for the Peabody Distinguished Alumni Award
Presented to
Edith Ho
May 16, 2007
Edith Ho, you have traveled a long way since your days at Peabody studying organ with Arthur Howes.
After receiving two degrees from Peabody, you undertook advanced studies in organ with Heinz Wanderlich and Helmut Walcha in Germany. You also attended choral seminars conducted by Sir David Willcocks and other prominent conductors.
You made several organ concert tours in Europe, including a recital at Notre Dame, Paris, where you played for 4000 people.
Thirty years ago you moved to Boston to take on a prestigious position in one of the most revered churches in the United States, as Choirmaster and Organist at the Church of the Advent in Boston.
During your tenure, the music program at the Advent has earned international acclaim.
One reason for this is your significant efforts to introduce the works of little-known Renaissance composers – both to congregations at the Advent and, through the Choir’s recording projects, to the broader musical community.
Following a series of the three LPs and one CD on the AFKA label in the 1980s, you and the Choir forged a close association with Robert Schuneman and Arsis Audio. With the end of your tenure, Arsis will have released ten compact discs with the Advent Choir.
These recordings have earned high praise from reviewers in such publications as the American Record Guide, Fanfare, and Early Music America.
You have also enjoyed working relationships with several contemporary composers. You and the Choir have performed world premieres of works by Rodney Lister, Daniel Pinkham, Theodore Morrison, James Reyes, and Robert Lehman, among others.
Your many accomplishments earned you an honorary doctorate from Nashotah House Seminary in Wisconsin in 1994.
Your unswerving commitment to the highest standards of musical excellence, your unequaled work ethic, and your wry sense of humor, have served you well throughout your career.
It is for your extraordinary musical accomplishments that The Peabody Chapter of The Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association confers upon you the honor of the Distinguished Alumni Award.
