| Biography | Howard Milner (23 February 1953 6 March 2011) was a British tenor. He began his musical education as a chorister at Coventry Cathedral. He then won a music scholarship to Monkton Combe School, read English at Cambridge University followed by post graduate at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Milners first professional engagement was with Swingle II, the jazz based vocal octet, followed by several years in Paris with the Group Vocal de France specialising in contemporary music. On his return to London he worked with many different vocal groups, sang in the West End and worked in the commercial session scene.
A serious motor bike accident in 1982 prompted Milner to decide to take his singing more seriously
He returned to the Guildhall School with a scholarship to the Opera course where he subsequently won several major prizes. An invitation to join the Glyndebourne company followed. Contracts with Scottish Opera, Kent Opera, English National Opera and the Royal Opera House followed, after which his career became international. During this time he was also a regular member of the experimental and edgy Opera Factory with David Freeman. Alongside his operatic work, he was known as an accomplished concert singer of international standing. He was invited to perform at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw with Ton Koopmman with whom he later toured the Far East, with a live recording on Japanese TV. He also sang at the Carnegie Hall in New York, Sydney Opera House, with Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. Amongst his many recordings from this time are Monteverdi's Orfeo and Bach's B Minor Mass with John Eliot Gardiner, the award winning album of Hildegard of Bingen with Gothic Voices which pioneered the rebirth of interest in her work, and Benjamin Britten's Billy Budd with the ENO, now available on DVD. |