About Naples Community Orchestra
Great music begins with people.
Music that brings us together.
Naples Community Orchestra brings professional, community and student musicians together to perform ambitious orchestral music and connect Southwest Florida through a shared love of live performance.
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Our concerts are the center of what we do. Around them, we help audiences hear more in the music, create meaningful opportunities for musicians and volunteers, and encourage young people’s musical growth.​
Music.
We perform rewarding orchestral programs to high standards—and help audiences hear more through Listener Guides, artist stories and musical insight.
Opportunity.
We create meaningful opportunities for community musicians, students and working professionals while encouraging young people’s musical growth.
Community.
We keep the concert experience welcoming and accessible, with meaningful ways for audiences, musicians, volunteers and supporters to participate.
One Orchestra
Many Ways to Belong
Community is how we work
Our musicians bring different experiences to the stage. Some have spent their careers performing professionally. Others are accomplished community musicians who have continued playing throughout their lives. Students bring emerging talent and the opportunity to grow alongside experienced colleagues.
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Together, they form one orchestra united by preparation, commitment and a shared desire to make the music matter.
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The community extends beyond the stage. Audience members, volunteers, donors and local partners all help make the concerts possible. Some attend. Some play. Some welcome our guests. Some introduce a friend or provide financial support. Each has a place in NCO’s story.
Our Artistic Director
Alvin Ho
Alvin Ho has served as Artistic Director of Naples Community Orchestra since 2022. Born in Hong Kong and based in New York, he brings international experience, musical precision and an expressive approach to NCO’s performances.
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Ho won First Prize at the 2022 Princess Astrid International Conducting Competition in Trondheim, Norway. He was also awarded a Karajan Conducting Fellowship with the Vienna Philharmonic, placing him in residence at the Salzburg Festival, and served as Assistant Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
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From 2022 through 2025, Ho was Assistant Conductor of the Naples Philharmonic, where he conducted subscription concerts, ballet productions and educational programs. He now serves as Cover Conductor of the Sarasota Orchestra. His principal mentor is Riccardo Muti, with whom he continues to work as an understudy for performances by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra and Vienna Philharmonic.
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Ho is deeply committed to developing the next generation of musicians. With the Naples Philharmonic, he created and led educational programs reaching more than 15,000 students annually and continues to visit local schools to coach young musicians.
He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Orchestral Conducting from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
