Colin Howard - Tenor

Colin Howard studied piano with Angus Morrison, conducting with Vernon Handley, cello with Hervey Phillips and singing privately with Caroline Friend at the Royal College of Music where he was a post-graduate scholar as a conductor (Bonner Scholarship and Adrian Boult Prize) and President of the Student Union. He was a boy chorister at Exeter College & Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford and has sung with many cathedral, church and chamber choirs since, notably Salisbury and Winchester Cathedral choirs, including tours to Germany, South Africa and the United States. Colin has been Director of Music at Highgate, Canford and The Purcell School; he was a member of the music staff at Winchester College and St Mary’s School, Calne. Conducting posts have included the Finchley Children’s Music Group, chorus-master to Chelsea Opera Group, The Guildford Singers, The Holst Singers & Bournemouth Bach Choir. He directed the Orchestra of the Swan and the Two Moors Festival Chorus at the opening concert of the Festival last October in Exeter Cathedral. He has performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Purcell Room and Snape Maltings (in the Aldeburgh Festival) and has directed the first performance of new choral works by Nicholas Maw, John Rutter, Robert Spearing and John Tavener. Work as an accompanist has included recitals with Thomas Hemsley, Stephen Isserlis, John Noble and Jan Peter Schmolck. As tenor soloist his recent engagements have included Monteverdi’s Vespers for the Paragon Singers in Bath and Tippett’s cycle, The Heart’s Assurance with the pianist Anna Roberts for both the Corsham and Salisbury Festivals in 2005. For the 50th anniversary of Finzi’s death in 2006, he performed all of Finzi’s cycles for tenor voice with the pianist Duncan Honeybourne in Weymouth. In addition to his work as Musical Director of the Farrant Singers, he is conductor of the Corsham Choral Society and chorus-master of the Two Moors Festival. He is well-known as an adjudicator and examiner and is Musical Director of the National Chamber Music Course.