Biography
Ashton Latimer (b. 2006) is a Canadian composer from Vancouver, British Columbia, inspired by the textures and sound worlds that can be created by acoustic instruments. Through this exploration, he has begun to earn recognition through awards, competitions, and performances of his work. In 2026, Ashton was selected to participate in the Michael Nesbitt Composer Institute with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, where his orchestral work Overflow received its world premiere during the Winnipeg New Music Festival. During the festival, he was awarded Runner-up in the 2025 Emerging Canadian Music Centre Prairie Region Composer Competition and received a 2025 SOCAN Young Composer Award for Overflow. Ashton was also selected to participate in the final round of the 4th Graham Sommer Competition for Young Composers (GSC) in Montréal at the Schulich School of Music. His orchestral work Purification received a 2024 SOCAN Young Composer Award and was selected for the 2024 Hugh Davidson Composer Readings with the Victoria Symphony. In 2025, Ashton completed Overflow for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra as part of the Jean Coulthard Readings, through which he is also engaged in a six-month mentorship. In addition, Purification was a finalist in the Edmonton Pops Composer Competition, and his string quartet Ghost Ballerina won the senior category of the Langley String Quartet Competition. Alongside composing, Ashton is a dedicated French horn player. He has performed with the Vancouver Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra, the UNCSA Student Composer Orchestra, and the Fraser Valley Wind Ensemble. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Composition at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where he studies composition with Jared Miller and horn with Maria Serkin and Wyatt Gibson.