News from 2004
Choral and other compositions News in 2004
On 27th June 2004 Howard’s celebratory work commissioned to re-open the newly-restored organ at the Royal Albert Hall, received its world premiere, as part of an afternoon concert called Pipe Up!; the text of this narrative piece, Jason and the Argonauts, was written by the Irish poet Theo Dorgan. Thomas Trotter played the organ, with percussion, solo tenor (Kevin Kyle) and narrator (Samuel West). Howard introduced and conducted the work himself. It was subsequently performed by the Cambridge Organ Scholars’ Forum at Caius College Chapel in March 2005.
2005 choral premieres include We are God’s Labourers for the installation of the new Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, on October 4th (subsequently broadcast by BBC Radio 3’s Choral Evensong) and in October 2003 O Lord God of Time and Eternity for the Choir of St Paul’s Cathedral, London, performed at the Service of Commemoration for those who lost their lives in Iraq. Howard’s anthem As Angels in some brighter dreams, written in memory of Brian Ashinger, received its premiere performances by the Shrewsbury Chorale of New Jersey in June 2004, at The First Presbyterian Church at Red Bank, NJ.
Howard contributed three new hymn arrangements for the Griffin CD Favourite Hymns from Oxford, sung by the choir of Christ Church Cathedral Oxford, directed by Stephen Darlington. These were Morning has broken, When I survey the wondrous cross, and Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika.
Howard’s Love divine, in a setting for upper voices, was included in a new Faber collection, 30 Sacred Masterworks. Love divine sits flatteringly alongside Mozart, Beethoven, Byrd, Faure, Palestrina, Schubert and Handel, to name but a few. In 2004 Faber Music also released its male voice choir version (TTBB) of Howard’s Psalm 23 (the Vicar of Dibley theme).
Howard’s new work for brass band, Saraswati, for the Smithills School Senior Band and their musical director Chris Wormald, received its world premiere at Bluefield College, West Virginia, on 3rd August 2004, as part of the band’s rapturously-received USA Tour. It was recorded live on CD. He first encountered the musicians of Smithills when their Senior Brass Band played at the Albert Hall Schools’ Prom in November 2003 and was so knocked out by the excellence, maturity and beauty of their playing that he offered to compose a new work for them. Saraswati is the result. In April 2004 Howard was in Bolton to launch the new Special Performing Arts College Status of Smithills School. He unveiled a plaque celebrating the new chapter in the school’s history. A few months later they appeared on his South Bank Show Musical Nation. The Smithills Band performed again at the 2005 Schools Proms.
Musicals News in 2004
Howard’s 1986 musical Girlfriends was performed July 9th to August 1st 2004 at the Arlington National Cemetery, VA, as part of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial, World War II Memorial Dedication Celebration, America Celebrates the Greatest Generation. It was directed by Robert Neal Marshall. This followed on from its highly-successful US premiere production in June 2003, presented by Sandy Spring Theatre Group and Fallen Angel Productions, directed by Stan Levin. The first review available, from The Washington Post, which was outstanding, can be found here. Girlfriends was also presented by The Portchester Players (Hampshire, UK) in July, which meant that for two overlapping nights a single one of Howard’s musicals was being performed concurrently on both sides of the Atlantic!
In October, at the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith, the Salisbury Playhouse production of Howard & Melvyn Bragg’s musical The Hired Man, directed by Joanna Reed, won the TMA Award for Best Musical. This was the first major professional revival in the UK since the late 80s and was received with outstanding reviews. The Hired Man also enjoyed a sell-out, critically acclaimed run at the Theatre by the Lake, Keswick – the first professional production of the piece in the county of its origin. Amongst many revivals of The Hired Man in 2005 are productions in Whitehaven (the mining town where the Tallentires live in Act 2!) and on Teesside, and the Dutch-language version by the AmersfoortseMuziektheatergroep. Days of Hope was produced at the Northcott Theatre,Exeter, directed by Nick Stimson to great acclaim in June 2004
Film Music, Presenting and other news in 2004
Howard co-wrote the theme with Ed Shearmur for the Rowan Atkinson spoof 007 comedy adventure movie Johnny English.
He presented, with Aled Jones and Petroc Trelawny, the TV and Radio 3 coverage of the BBC Radio 3 Choir of the Year. He worked on two new Vicar of Dibley Christmas and New Year specials for the BBC and an orchestral suite of Red Dwarf, given its world premiere by the Halle Orchestra at Bridgewater Hall in Manchester in October 2004. A new series of the BBC’s Q.I. featured Howard’s theme music. He also composed music for the second series of the BBC 2’s Seaside Parish which began on28th December 2004 with a special about the Boscastle flood disaster.
December 2004 saw the opening of The Sage Gateshead of which he was a trustee until 2010.