Kickin' It 2.0 was written by Ho after a request from Dame Evelyn Glennie. While there are some structural differences between this version and the original Kickin' It (PE168), the drum kit part is essentially the same, and the piano is similar except for some material in the second half of the fourth movement. The added strings augment the textures and sonic palette of the original version by punctuating the drum kit's unpredictable accents, interweaving shrieking glissandi lines, and conjuring eerie atmospherics with glassy tremolo bowing.
Vincent Ho is a Canadian who is widely recognised as one of the most exciting composers of his generation. He has made waves in the music world of North America despite being fairly early in his compositional career, receiving numerous prizes, accolades, and prominent commissions in a relatively short space of time. Ho’s music is rich and energetic - a unique integration of influences ranging from the visual arts, electroacoustic and natural soundscapes, traditional classical music forms, and the physical properties of the instruments and ensembles for which he writes. His music is sensual, sonorous and richly textured, and Ho gives considerable attention to the audience’s experience of his intricate sound-worlds.
