One of Britain’s most experienced conductors on the international platform, Howard Williams has covered a formidable range of work both in the opera house and concert hall. In the UK, he has conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia, London Sinfonietta, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Concert Orchestra and the Ulster Orchestra. He has conducted at the BBC Proms, the Edinburgh, Leeds, Bath and Brighton Festivals, and festivals in Budapest, Hong Kong, France and Spain.
In Europe, Howard has appeared with the Austrian Radio Symphony, Bavarian Radio Symphony, Swedish Radio Orchestra, Belgian Radio Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, Slovak Philharmonic, Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Nationale de Lyon, Orchestre de Strasbourg, Orchestre Symphonique de Montpellier, Orchestre de Picardie, RTE Symphony Orchestra, and the Portuguese National Symphony Orchestra.
With the English Bach Festival Baroque Orchestra, he conducted productions at Covent Garden of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, Purcell’s Fairy Queen and Dido and Aeneas, and Handel’s Oreste. Following a two-year contract with the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden, Howard appeared frequently with the Dutch National Ballet, Netherlands Dance Theatre and Hamburg Ballet.
Following his appointment in 1989 as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Pécs Symphony Orchestra (now Pannon Philharmonic), Hungary, Howard devoted much time to working with the leading orchestras in that country. He has been awarded the Artisjus award and Bartók Medal for services to Hungarian music.
On leaving Pécs in 2000, Howard was appointed as Permanent Guest Conductor by the orchestra. In the same year, he was appointed Head of Conducting at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and became Artistic Director of the Oxford Orchestra da Camera. Since 2013, he has been Musical Director of the Sinfonia of Cambridge. His six years in Cardiff enabled him to explore and develop his attitude to train conductors and student orchestras.