Som Howie

Som Howie started the clarinet at the age of 11, studying under Mark Walton until he began his studies at the Conservatorium of Music Sydney in 2008, where he attained a Bachelor of Music Performance in 2012, completing his studies with Frank Celata.
In 2009 he won the Conservatorium Concerto competition and in 2012 was a Grand Finalist in the ABC Young Performers Awards, performing the Copland Clarinet Concerto with both the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra.
During his time as a Fellow with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 2013, he won both the Australasian Saxophone and Clarinet Conference Competition performing the Mozart Clarinet Concerto, and the Musica Viva Australia Chamber Music Competition.
In 2014 he was Co-Principal Clarinet in the Southbank Sinfonia of London where he performed Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in the UK and Italy. During the same year he also performed the Brahms Clarinet Quintet with one of Great Britain’s longest standing and most prestigious string quartets, the Allegri Quartet.
Som has performed as Principal Clarinet with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, and the Sydney Lyric Orchestra as part of the Paris Opera Ballet tour to Australia in 2013. He has been a guest musician with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
Currently living in London and Stockholm, Som is a Performing Artist with the Arts Global Foundation and holds the Clarinet position in the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2015-2016 Foyles Future Firsts Program. He has recently won an Academy position with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra for 2016, where he will study with Principal Clarinettists Hermann Stefansson and Johan Fransen.
In 2016 he will tour with his trio, The Dolmen Ensemble, to Edinburgh for the annual Fringe Festival in August, and to Australia and New Zealand on behalf of the Royal Overseas League in November.
Thanks to the generous support of the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust Som is able to continue his career development in London and Stockholm. Outside of music, he loves spending time with family and friends, and enjoys playing football and cricket.