Dani Howard is a British composer and orchestrator who was raised in Hong Kong. Her work has been described as having a “luminous and effervescent sound world” by Gramophone and has received international acclaim. It has been performed with Orchestras from the London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Gävle Symphony Orchestra, and Kuopio Symphony.

Initially a percussionist (drum kit, specifically) Dani also taught herself guitar and played in bands, as well as playing the cello. If she had become a performer she says she would have pursued the cello, mentioning that playing it in an orchestral setting “gave [her] an instinctive understanding of the physicality of the instruments, the density of the parts and how they intertwine with each other”.

It was Britten’s Cello Suite No. 1 that truly ignited Dani’s love of classical music at the age of 15 or 16. “Something opened up in my mind and my ears. That contemporary soundworld felt fresh and exciting”, she said.

In 2022, Dani won a Royal Philharmonic Society Award for her Trombone Concerto which was dubbed “an instant classic” by The Times. The piece was further nominated for a 2022 South Bank Sky Arts Awards.

Dani’s favourite living composer is Mason Bates (whose work Auditorium was performed with the BSO at the BBC Proms in 2021). Dani is also inspired by Nico Muhly’s work. She says, “It can be so hard to create an identity as a composer, but these two composers have such distinct styles they are immediately recognisable.”

Inspiration can strike from anywhere for Dani, including from watching videos or observing a sculpture. She also describes being inspired to write by once watching the building of a spider’s web, saying “When I saw it being made, I sat for two hours watching it.”

We’re so looking forward to Dani’s piece The Butterfly Effect opening our 2025/26 season. It will be conducted by Mark Wigglesworth in Poole (1 Oct), Bristol (2 Oct) and Basingstoke (3 Oct).

The performance of The Butterfly Effect is supported by Resonate, a PRS Foundation initiative in partnership with Association of British Orchestras and BBC Radio 3