Dan Howard

Dan comes from Boise, Idaho and spent many years of his youth moving from place to place around the western United States. After attending high school in Beaverton, Oregon, he joined the Marine Corps and served in the fleet marine forces.

When he completed his contract, he moved back to Boise to attend Boise State University (go Broncos), majoring in Music Performance and then to Rutgers University in New Jersey for a master’s degree. Dan earned playing positions with the Tacoma Symphony and Boise Philharmonic and began freelancing across the northwest.

You can hear Dan’s bass trombone playing on various movie and video game soundtracks. As a performer, Dan has also played with a variety of acts, including the Moody Blues, Ray Charles, and the touring production of Wicked.

While working as a freelance musician, Dan spent 12 years teaching music in public schools. Dan has spent a lot of time working in ensemble education and has managed several large and small ensemble festivals for Jazz Band, Concert Band, High School Orchestra, and Marching Band.

Dan’s passion for music-making transcended the performances on stage and moved him increasingly behind the scenes. Starting from personnel manager, he worked his way up to Vice President & General Manager for the Boise Phil, where he learned a lot about programs and production management.

Dan’s skills and passion for performance and education made working for National Repertory Orchestra as Director of Operations & Education the absolute right choice.

When not serving the community as an arts administrator, Dan may be found (or not) deep in the mountains searching for the perfect trout stream. Along with his incredible wife, Brooke, and their two “monsters,” Charlie and Holly, Dan looks forward to this next chapter in Breckenridge.