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Jon F. Howe

@jonfhowemusic

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Composer, Hornist, Educator, Music Technologist
URI '20 | Hartt '22 | Hartt '26
Published by: @easternhillmusic

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For those who weren't able to make it to the premiere, or who would like to hear the piece again, the premiere recording of @hickcentric and my Cantata "The Tale of Cú Chulainn" for Aplified Mezzo-Soprano and Wind Ensemble is now on my YouTube Channel! The sheet music is also now available to purchase!

🔗 Link to watch the full performance and purchase the music in my bio!

#windband #windbandmusic #vocalmusic #newmusicalert🚨 by @jonfhowemusic

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6 months ago

It took a few days to collect my thoughts, but I've been so grateful for the support that my friends, family, and professors have brought to the premiere of this work by @hickcentric and myself! Watching this piece grow from a crazy idea to a work of this magnitude has been so incredibly rewarding! From the amazing performance by Isobel, to the direction of @theamericanband under Dr. Brian Cardany's baton! Being able to return to my undergrad where my musical journey in higher education started and finish with the premiere of my dissertation has been a wonderfully full circle moment. To everyone who either went in-person, tuned into the livestream, or has watched the recording afterwards thank you from the bottom of my heart!

The livestream link to the premiere performance can be found in my bio! by @jonfhowemusic

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6 months ago

Haven't posted as much recently due to being very busy, you can see some of the projects I'm currently working on. As a composer, I think it's good to have a "Project Bucket List." Both my master's thesis and dissertation were projects I had on my bucket list when I proposed them. I've never shared the list publicly before, and this is not everything on the list. It morphs and changes over time. Very often I will listen to something and have the classic "I would love to write something like this someday" response that so many composers are guilty of. I'm very fortunate that through opportunities and friendships I've been able to start checking off some of these ideas. To my fellow composers, I encourage you to keep a bucket list of ideas that you'd love to write one day, in written or mental form. You never know when the opportunity to bring it to life might appear!

#composer #commissionswelcome #newmusic #composerlife by @jonfhowemusic

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10 days ago

Before pursuing a composition degree, I was considering a music education degree. Even though I ultimately went down a different route as a music educator, there was a philosophy that was taught to all music students during my time at URI; whatever form it takes, we are all music educators. As both a composer and a musician, this philosophy has stayed with me.

Some of my favorite collaborations in recent years have been with educational and community ensembles. They have always been some of the most creatively rewarding opportunities for me. When some of my music educator friends and I have discussed the difficulties of commissioning new works for their ensembles, the price of commissioning a work often comes up. Alongside this, I've run into situations where I have composed a work for a large ensemble and for one reason or another, the opportunity fell through. Resulting in music that is gathering dust on my hard drive.

In hopes of providing more premiere opportunities for community and educational ensembles, I'm now offering a 50% discount to the listed price of certain works in exchange for a premiere performance and a non-commercial recording.

Currently, I have four works that I am offering this discount for. Interested ensembles can learn more about the works and this opportunity at the links in my bio!

#newmusic #composer #musiced #bandkids #premiere #jonfhowemusic by @jonfhowemusic

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2 months ago

If I could pinpoint a moment when Irish folklore and mythology became a part of my compositional practice, it would be my piece "Dullahan's Ride." Originally written in the summer of 2019 as part of the University of Rhode Island's Arts and Sciences Fellowship, the piece is a short tone poem depicting some of the folklore surrounding the Dullahan, the headless fae. The piece was originally written for orchestra and when I first revisited the piece to revise it a few years ago, my composition teacher suggested that I make a version for Wind Band. I never really had the time to properly transcribe a version for band until recently, but I agree with my teacher, the band version feels like it always was meant to be.
While the orchestral version was originally planned to be premiered in 2020, that never occurred due to the pandemic. Here's hoping that the piece can have a second life as a band work now!

You can watch the full score video on my YouTube channel and learn more about the piece on my website (both are linked in my bio).

#windband #composer #bandkid #newmusic #newmusicalert #jonfhowemusic by @jonfhowemusic

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2 months ago

Sometimes titles come to me in unexpected ways. When @maggeymangold_ and I were collaborating on creating a new piece for Flugelhorn and electronics I pictured a neo-noir world and imagined the opening monologue of the detective, "She walked into my office like a velvet hurricane..." From there I knew I wanted something to evoke that idea.

You can watch the whole score video on my YouTube channel. Link in my bio.

#newmusic #liveelectronics #flugelhorn #jonfhowemusic by @jonfhowemusic

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2 months ago

If you were to ask me what my favorite piece in the horn repertoire is, it would be Britten's "Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings." The merging of concerto and song cycle was always something that appealed to me as both a performer and a composer. When I had to write my Master's Thesis back in 2022 I knew I wanted to write a piece that was in conversation with Britten's piece as a similar vehicle. This resulted in the creation of "The Huntsman's Call" a 28 minute work for High Voice, Horn, and Strings. While the piece has not been premiered, yet. (Feel free to reach out to me if you're interested in premiering the work.) I still remain incredibly proud of the piece and it serves as a moment in my music where I started to solidify the style that I have today.

Here are some moments from within the work that I'm particularly fond of, especially the buildup to the F harmonic series at the end of the Sonnet!

#newmusic #vocalmusic #frenchhorn #hornplayer #composer #jonfhowemusic #classicalmusician by @jonfhowemusic

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3 months ago

For most of my life I've had an interest in stargazing and during the pandemic I really dove into it as a hobby. At a time when I was exploring new harmonic languages, I wanted to try setting a piece that evoked the feeling of stargazing. Amusing, I also discovered that the American composer Mary Howe (as far as I'm aware no relation) wrote a similarly influenced piece so I threw an homage to her work "Stars" at one point.

You can check out the full score video of the audio mockup on my YouTube channel at the link in my bio.

#newmusic #orchestra #stargazing by @jonfhowemusic

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3 months ago

"Dreams of Lavender Days" is one of my pieces that changed quite a bit during its composition. Originally it was the final movement to my song cycle "Sea Garden", but I eventually changed it for a different set of text after some copyright confusion. It now lives as a guitar duet and I think it is much better in this form. You can find the entire score video on my YouTube channel at the link in my Bio.

Huge thanks to both @guitarcia_ and @mrevandelaney for not only premiering the work, but championing it as well!

#guitar #guitarduo #newmusic by @jonfhowemusic

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3 months ago

One of my quirkier pieces, "Fantasia on an Olde English Tune" is a Theme and Variations on the old folk song "Death and the Lady" for Chamber Orchestra.

You can check out the full video on my YouTube channel! Link in my bio.

#newmusic #newmusicalert #chamberorchestra #orchestra by @jonfhowemusic

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3 months ago

Working with @jacobbender92 to bring this work to life was an amazing collaboration! "Golden Hour" was the first movement I composed for my first Symphony. This version of takes advantage of the addition of a string section to add new textures that are not in the original version for band. Check out the full performance at the link in my bio!

#newmusic #orchestramusic #composer by @jonfhowemusic

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3 months ago

Instead of posting a new Score Video this past week, I spent the week giving my website a long overdue update! Here are a couple preview photos. You can see my new and improved website right now at the link in my bio!

Score videos will resume this Thursday (4/16) at 5 pm EST!

#musicbusiness #composer #newmusic by @jonfhowemusic

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3 months ago