Biography

Dana Lewis Howell holds degrees in music composition from UCLA (PhD), San Francisco Conservatory of Music (MM) and Carnegie Mellon University (BFA). His teachers included Leonardo Balada, William Critser, Nancy Galbraith, Paul Chihara, David Conte, Roger Bourland and Ian Krause. He grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and pursued dual degrees in composition and clarinet performance before moving to California to continue studies.

Dana Howell currently serves as Instrumental Music Director at Highland Hall Waldorf School. Since coming to Los Angeles in 2004, he has been an active composer, performer, conductor and teacher, previously holding positions as Music Director at St. John Eudes Church and organist at Echo Park United Methodist Church. He taught composition and theory at the Brevard Music Center summer festival from 2008 to 2012 and studied at the American Conservatory in Fontainebleau.

Recent performances include November's concert premiere of his opera, "The Last Confession of Don Fray Juan Zumárraga," in Los Angeles, featuring the vocal talents of Elliot Levine in the titular role along with Mariana Ramirez, Roland Mills, and Kirk Garner with Abraham Fabella as music director, and music at the Sherborne Summer School of Music in Sherborne, UK. He also participated as a composer collaborator in the Aria Institute of Minnesota's Really Spicy Opera.