Obituary: Metropolitan Opera Horn Player Howard T. Howard Dies
By Francisco SalazarThe Metropolitan Opera Orchestra has announced the death of former Principal Horn, Howard T. Howard.
Howard died on Oct. 30, 2021 after a long battle with cancer.
The horn player began his music studies at the age of five playing piano and began playing French horn at the age of 14. He went on to receive a bachelor’s in music education from the University of Michigan in 1958 and then joined the Air Force, but two-thirds of the way through basic training he was discharged for medical reasons.
He played first horn in the Toledo Symphony briefly, then went to New York City in 1960. Howard became the Principal Horn player at the Met in 1962 and went on to perform with the orchestra for 46 years and worked under major conductors of the day including Erich Leinsdorf, Carl Böhm, Fritz Reiner, Georg Solti, Herbert von Karajan, and James Levine, and renowned opera singers like Luciano Pavarotti.
With the orchestra, he also traveled and toured the East Coast and occasionally Paris, Japan, Austria, and Germany.
Outside of his work from the Met, Howard was a member of the Newport Music Festival, Lark Woodwind Quintet, Toledo Symphony, Symphony of the Air, the Little Orchestra Society of New York, and the American Symphony Orchestra.
He also recorded for Nonesuch, Columbia, RCA, Sony, Deutsche Grammophon, and other labels.
Howard is survived by his loving wife, Skiles, daughter Caitlin, son-in-law David Rowe and grandson Hunter Rowe, son Adam and daughter-in-law Jenn Heettner, cousin Marles Nichols, half-brother Jack Travis, half-sisters Peggy Doeksen and Ruth Goetzinger, and husband, John.
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