160 young people will fill the Royal Albert Hall stage on Saturday (10 August), performing works by Wagner, Mahler and US composer Missy Mazzoli as part of the National Youth Orchestra’s (NYO) annual BBC Proms showcase.
The orchestra will also premiere a new work by Dani Howard, NYO’s Resident Artist for 2024. Written to celebrate 10 years of NYO Inspire — a programme that aims to break down barriers and provide opportunities for young people to make music ‘a bigger part of their lives’ — this special debut performance of Dani’s Three, Four AND… will feature 100 NYO Inspire musicians and be conducted by NYO alumnus Tess Jackson.
Speaking to M about the mission of NYO Inspire, Dani likens the initiative to a training ground for developing young talent to eventually be brought into NYO: ‘It basically magnifies the amount of people who can be involved. It’s expanding the impact.’
This Prom is certainly an exciting opportunity for NYO, as Saturday’s concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 before being screened on BBC Four later this season. Given this level of exposure and the high standard of the orchestra, it’s little surprise to hear Dani reveal that ‘the way I’ve written for NYO is no different to how I’d write for a professional orchestra. I’m just blown away by their level.’
'I've really got to know this cohort of NYO musicians — I feel like the piece is connected with this particular group.'
The title of the newly commissioned piece is a phrase that will be familiar to anyone who has ever experienced music education.
‘It got me thinking about dance,’ Dani tells M about the inspiration behind Three, Four AND…. 'When you go “Three, four AND…”, and what that breath means. It’s that anticipation and excitement.’
Delving into the composition process, part of Dani’s commission was to create a simple tune for the work — known as the ‘As One melody’ after the name of the campaign promoting NYO Inspire’s tenth anniversary — which could be taken on tour and publicised ahead of the Prom.
‘It was a great challenge, because I wanted something that was accessible, memorable and able to be played in many different ways,’ she explains, before adding that the response online has been very positive. ‘We’ve had jazz renditions, small groups of people singing it and [other] beautiful arrangements. Some of that actually informed the [final] piece that I was writing.’
Dani’s close involvement with NYO this year has also helped shape the music, from taking suggestions from the young musicians about what they’d like to play to bringing out their sense of fun.
'I've really got to know this cohort of musicians — I feel like the piece is connected with this particular group,’ she says [NYO pictured below]. ‘There’s a lot of groove to it. I squashed and shrunk the melody to make lots of rhythmic and funky things that makes the basis for a lot of the piece.’
Dani is no stranger to writing for large mixed-ability groups. Her work with NYO Inspire began during the pandemic with Jigsaw, a piece for 750 musicians to rehearse, perform and record entirely over Zoom: ‘The main goal was for everyone to feel they were contributing something really important, no matter how much or little they were playing, and for it to sound fulfilling.’
Outside of her current NYO role, Dani’s music career has been developing apace. Her 2021 Trombone Concerto won a Royal Philharmonic Society Award, while a Percussion Concerto for Dame Evelyn Glennie premiered in April. To date, Dani has been commissioned and had her work performed by over 40 orchestras worldwide.
During this growth, Dani has enjoyed a close relationship with PRS since her days as a student at the Royal College of Music.
‘It was really wonderful because we were invited to PRS networking events, particularly [those affiliated with] contemporary music,’ she recalls. ‘They’ve held seminars and provided advice on, for example, funding applications, where someone from the Arts Council is invited to speak. A really nice community of composers that I’ve seen over the years at those events [has emerged].
'I wouldn’t have been able to release my debut album without funding from PRS Foundation.'
‘PRS Foundation has been huge for me,’ she adds. ‘They’ve funded several commissions of mine in the past, and I was a recipient of their Composers’ Fund last year, which supported my recent debut album of orchestral works. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without that funding — I’m very, very grateful.’
With further commissions on the horizon, Dani is clearly a composer in demand. But how much does she enjoy getting the chance to work with emerging teenage musicians such as those in NYO?
‘It’s huge,’ she replies. ‘The longer I’ve been a full-time composer, the more I realise how lonely it can be: I really miss engagement with people. There are things I’ve learned that I can share with these young people, who have that passion and drive that I had then. It’s refreshing to see.
‘I love being part of an organisation where people are energetic and passionate. With NYO, it just seemed like the perfect fit.’
The world premiere of Dani Howard’s ‘Three, Four AND…’ will be performed by The National Youth Orchestra and musicians from NYO Inspire, conducted by Tess Jackson, at the Royal Albert Hall on 10 August as part of BBC Proms 2024.
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