Barney Howard grew up in London and was introduced to classical music aged 11 in school: after joining the school’s oratorio choir, the first piece he ever took part in was a performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah. Later, with the Tiffin Boys’ Choir, he performed at venues such as the Royal Opera House,
the Royal Albert Hall, the Royal Festival Hall and the Barbican Centre.

Barney is also a timpanist and orchestral percussionist, specialising in historical performance practices on the timpani, and has made comprehensive editions of timpani music for works such as Purcell’s operas King Arthur and Dioclesian. He was both timpanist and principal percussionist of the
Thames Youth Orchestra, as well as a guest timpanist and percussionist for various orchestras in West London.

Barney is a keen choral singer, singing in various liturgical choirs in London and the North East of England. He was a choral scholar under Dr Martin Neary and Laurence Williams at St Michael
and All Angels’, Barnes, where he continues on occasion to sing under Owen Elsley, and has performed
in many cathedrals around the UK, such as St Paul’s, Exeter, Winchester, Westminster Abbey, York Minster and at Worcester for the Three Choirs Festival, as well as on Gabrieli’s An English Coronation album under Paul McCreesh in Ely.

As Director of Music of University College, Durham, Barney conducts the chapel choir in services, choosing music for the liturgical calendar. With the choir, he has conducted concerts and services around the United Kingdom and Europe, as well as for outreach projects in the North East.

Alongside choral conducting, Barney has conducted orchestras in performances of, for example,
Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto in Durham Cathedral, overtures by Wagner, and the orchestral music of British composers such as Elgar, Delius and Butterworth.