News from 2010
Musicals News in 2010
Howard’s new musical, Love Story, received its premier performances at the Chichester Festival Theatre in the summer of 2010 and tranferred to the West End later in the year. The musical earnt 3 Olivier Award nominations, Best New Musical, Best Actress in a Musical & Best Actor in a Musical. For more information about the musical click here. The sheet music for all the songs in the show is now available for digital download here. Chichester reviews can be found here. Edward Seckerson’s review of the London production is here.
The Hired Man was performed from 10 June – 3rd July 2010 at the Octagon Theatre Bolton, directed by David Thacker. The ensemble for this production won the TMA Award for Best Performance in a Musical 2010
Choral Music and CD News in 2010
Howard wrote the music & lyrics for A Song of Hope, specially commissioned by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust for its first performance at the National Holocaust Memorial Event,The Legacy of Hope, on January 27th in the Great Hall of the City of London Guildhall. He conducted a choir from Lady Margaret School, Fulham with the Aurora Orchestra. 200 Holocaust survivors attended the event.
On 25th March in London’s Royal Festival Hall Howard was present at the world premiere of his specially-commissioned work for large choir and orchestra, The Pearl, marking the 140th anniversary of Coloma Convent Girls’ School, Croydon. Coloma Convent is a voluntary-aided Roman Catholic comprehensive school with Specialist Music College Status. Its outstanding head of music and the conductor for the concert was Hilary Meyer.
Howard attended a 3-day festival of concerts devoted to his choral music, Opus 5, in Groningen, Leeuwarden and Utrecht, Holland, from 4th-6th February.
May 10th saw the release by Classic FM of the third Enchanted Voices CD: Pelican in the wilderness: Songs from the Psalms. May (17th) also saw the release of The Seasons, (EMI) Howard’s new suite from the ITV Series, on EMI Classics, played by Bozidar Vutovic & The Tippett Quartet
As the Conservative and Liberal Democrat policital parties worked to set up a coalition in May 2010, Howard was delighted to read in UK Political News on the 12th May that his music was helping! See second news item here
Also in May Howard’s new piece for orchestra, organ, narrator and young voices, commissioned by the 2010 Brighton Festival, The Selfish Giant, received its world premiere on the first day of the festival, May 1st. Howard conducted the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra with the Brighton Festival Youth Chorus.
In early 2010 it was confirmed that Eternal Light: A Requiem was Faber Music’s most performed classical work in 2009 (102 live performances), including American and Australian premieres. Many more performances were given in 2010 including at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast and The First United Methodist Church Moorestown New Jersey
Presenting News in 2010
Howard’s series of interviews with eminent musicians on SkyArts 2/HD, Music Room, began airing in November. More details can be found here.
Howard’s audio-visual explanations of the musical context of the Ballets Russes were seen as part of the V & A Museum’s exhibition, DIAGHILEV AND THE GOLDEN AGE OF THE BALLETS RUSSES 1909-1929. The video is on the V&A website alongside other resources here.
Howard was Chair of the Judges for the Finals of the BBC Songs of Praise School Choir of the Year, held in London’s Royal Festival Hall, broadcast on 11th, 18th & 25th April.
On March 4th & 5th Howard was keynote speaker in Minneapolis at the American Choral Directors Association North Central Conference 2010, ‘A Community That Sings’
Education News in 2010
As National Amabassador for Singing, Howard spent 24th February, the first National Sing-Up Day, giving radio interviews throughout the day and presenting Archbishop Sumner C of E Primary School in Kennington, London their Sing Up Platinum Award. He gave keynote speeches at the Sing Up National Gathering in Manchester (22nd January), Sing Up London (4th Feb), Rugby School Arnold Foundation (9th February), and Lincolnshire Primary Headteachers conference (26th February).
Awards News in 2010
Howard’s best-selling Classic fm CD ‘Enchanted Voices’ was one of the nominations for ‘CD of the Year’ in the 2010 ns&i Classical Brits awards.
In the Gramophone Specialist Classical Chart of the top 100 CDs of 2009, Howard’s three most recent CDs came in at numbers 1, 4 and 9 (Enchanted Voices, Enchanted Carols & Eternal Light: A Requiem respectively). In addition, Enchanted Voices won a Gramophone Award (Specialist Classical Chart Award). The CD, released in March, was no.1 of the chart for 23 weeks.
Howard is honoured to receive the 2009 Karl Haas Prize for Music Education, awarded by the Klassix Society–Friends of 88.7KXMS / Fine Arts Radio International of Missouri Southern State University