Tea with Ai Horton

Currently based in The Netherlands, Canadian-Japanese soprano Ai Horton is praised for her vulnerability and versatility as a creative. With a particular interest in historical-performance practice, her varied concert repertoire spans several centuries and includes 17th-century Italian monody, music of the high French Baroque, the works of J.S. Bach, and German Lieder of the Romantic era.

Last summer, she returned to the operatic stage as “El Aire” in Antonio Literes’ Los Elementos with Jeune Orchestre Baroque Européen. Ai also regularly performers contemporary works and recently premiered Australian-composer Lydia Gardiner’s “Zeewijk Passion” at Het Scheepvaartmuseum Amsterdam (The Maritime Museum). Other professional highlights include Handel’s “Messiah” with Bach on the Rock (CAN), joining Early Music Vancouver for their summer festival “Women in Sight” as a 2023 Next-Generation Artist (CAN), Buxtehude’s “Membra Jesu Nostri” with Dutch Baroque (NL), 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. She has put together several projects that bridge her personal experiences with the music that she loves, in an effort to create a deeper connection between her artistic work and new audiences who can connect to the stories and sentiments shared. Her current project—”Nao-Chan”—follows the life’s journey of Ai’s grandmother, Naoko Fujita (藤田尚子), who left Japan when she was 21-years old to start a new life in North America. This cross-continental journey is presented as a collection of letters written to her childhood friend Yoshiko, woven together with 19th/-20th-century Japanese art songs. Filled with stories of resilience and charming glimpses into the everyday lives of Naoko, her husband Takashi, and their three children, the production captures the anxieties of facing the unknown, the strength of human-spirit, and the cyclical nature of life through the lives of a family of immigrants.

Ai completed a Masters in Early Music Vocal Studies as a Holland/Excellence Scholar at the Royal Conservatoire The Hague, researching the pathetic capabilities of 17th-century laments. She also holds a Bachelor of Music in Secondary Music Education and Voice from the University of Victoria. An experienced and in-demand chorister, she can regularly be seen singing with top Dutch vocal ensembles.