David M Howard is an
Organist, Choir Director, Accompanist and Choral Singer. His
professional research work into human voice production,
particularly pitch, choral tuning and the part that timbre
plays in this informs much of his choral conducting practice
and choral research activities.
David published a book on choral singing:
Choral
singing and healthy voice production, (2015),
Willow Leaf Publishing.
Musical Director of Feltham Choral
Society
David has been the Musical Director of
Feltham
Choral Society, a local group of keen singers
who really enjoy making music together. We perform a mixture
of more major works that have included:
The Creation,
Nelson Mass and
Insanae et vanae curae by
Josef Haydn;
The Stabat Mater (4-part version) by
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi;
The Crucifixion by
Sir John Stainer;
Fantasia on Christmas Carols
by Ralph Vaughan Williams;
Ceremony of Carols by
Benjamin Britten,
The Benedicite by Andrew Carter; a
variety of numbers from
The Operettas of Sir William
Schwenck Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan; alongside numerous
shorter choral works including a few arrangements I
have created myself. Feltham Choral Society presents three
concerts a year in St. Dunstan's Church, Feltham.
Previously, David conducted
Consonance
in York, who sang Choral Evensongs in St. Helen's Church,
York and gave occasional concerts,
Vale
of York Voices who sang evensong in York Minster
approximately once a month on Mondays when the Minster Choir
had its day off
and the
Beningbrough
Singers, an eight part close harmony singing group in
York. Prior to moving to York, David Conducted the
Cavendish
Singers and was a member of the
Alan Wilson
Singers.
Organist
David is organist at St. Mary's Thorpe (
2
manuals and pedals, 13 speaking stop tracker - Lewis of
Brixton) dating from around 1912. He has access to the
Royal Holloway Chapel Organ for practice (
3
manuals and pedals, 37 speaking stop - Harrison and
Harrison). He has played regularly for many years from
the age of 14 as an organist in a local church, previously
at
St. Luke's
Burtonstone Lane in York (
2
manuals and pedals, 14 speaking stop tracker - Nelson of
Durham), Christ the King University Church in Gordon
Square, London WC1 (
3
manuals and pedals, 60 speaking stop - Gray and Davison).
His first organist position (from age 14) was at St. Michael
and All Angels, Cuxton, Kent (
2
manuals and pedals, 12 speaking stop tracker - Forster
and Andrews). He has an electronic organ for home
practice (3 manuals and pedals, 43 speaking stop Walsingham
by Norwich Organs ).
David is very proud to be able to perform and have a piece
of organ music dedicated to him,
Fantasia
on Ubi Caritas, by his dear friend, Alan Wilson.
Accompanist
David works with Sarah Louise Leonard (soprano) giving
recitals in the local area including a Christmas Recital at
St Mary's Thorpe, an evening concert at Stokenchurch church,

Synthesizer player
In the past he has done extensive work playing synthesizers
in church (David was the author of the Royal School of
Church Music's:
Synthesizers in Worship) with
professional composer, organist and harpsichord player Alan
Wilson. Alan and David were the first to use synthesizers on
Radio 2's
Sunday Half Hour and Radio 4's
Morning
Worship.
Composer
David has a few compositions:
Postlude
for Mae (for Organ), a
chant for
Psalm 76,
Vocal
Vision I for pre-programmed four-part vowel synthesis
and two sopranos (
Vocal
Vision I on YouTube) and
Vocal
Vision II for two-part live synthesiser with a tenor
and bass (
Vocal
Vision II on YouTube). He also arranged
O
mio babbino (Puccini) to enable it to be accompanied
on his Vocal Tract Organ in front of HRH The Princess Royal
(
O mio
babbino performance on YouTube).