Howard Frazin

The music of Howard Frazin has been called “genuinely touching” by the Dallas Morning News and “clear in design … ingeniously scored … [with] an almost unbearable poignancy” by the Boston Globe. His works have been commissioned and performed by many leading ensembles including A Far Cry, Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, Boston Classical Orchestra, the Claremont Trio, Florestan Recital Project, Lorelei Ensemble, Lydian String Quartet, Arneis Quartet, and Triple Helix, and programmed at festivals including Tanglewood, Aspen, Banff, Rockport, Monadnock, Bowdoin, Kneisel Hall, and Yellow Barn. His works are published by Editions Peters and recorded on Ravello Records and MSR Classics.

Recent orchestral commissions include Overture to the Moon and Stars (2022) and a Viola Concerto (2017) for Kim Kashkashian, both premiered by the Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms Society, where he was composer-in-residence. In 2023 Jonathan Bass premiered his Piano Sonata commissioned by Walden Chamber Players, and the Sheffield Chamber Players premiered The Second Coming for voice and string quartet. Performances in 2025 include a new string quartet for the Eclipse Quartet in Los Angeles next spring, and the Boston premiere of Peace Cantata by the Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms Society Orchestra in the fall. New commissions include a song cycle for mezzo-soprano and piano trio, a solo cello suite for Andrew Mark, and an orchestral song based on the prologue to Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man. Frazin is the co-founder and artistic director of WordSong and a sought-after composition teacher with a private studio in the Boston area.