Scholarly Advice from an Orchestral Musician: An Interview with David Howard of the LA Philharmonic (June 30, 2014)

Conducted by Andy Blanco and Michael Tran

WAVE: As a musician, you have had many opportunities to travel to different cities and perform at many venues. What are some of your most memorable performances while traveling abroad?
David Howard: Boy, that’s not easy. You know the Philharmonic tends to take one or two tours per year; sometimes it is domestic and foreign. You know one thing that just pops into my mind is going to Hong Kong, because it’s really like being a kid in the candy store. It’s fun; in our orchestra we tend to go to a lot of the same places, because we have relationships with certain festivals. For example, we are considered a partner in the Barbican in London and we are a part of an ongoing festival in Paris, so we go to a lot of the same destinations. Going to Asia is less and less frequent, but the time I went to Hong Kong was for Esa-Pekka Salonen’s last tour with the orchestra as music director. We were there for about 4 nights. Every night like clockwork after the concert, a group of us would go to the night market, where the action was in town, to wander through and pick up various… knock-offs. It was just kind of a thrill. There is enough downtime in touring where we get a chance to explore. When I was younger I could do a little bit more exploring during the day and play a concert at night. At this point, I have to behave a bit.