Drummer, Percussionist, Conductor, and Music Coordinator Howard Joines is known for his great versatility. He is equally at home performing with an orchestra, with a rock band, or on Broadway. He holds a Masters of Music and the coveted Performer's Certificate from the Eastman School of Music, and even during his school days, was performing as an extra with the Rochester Philharmonic. He has since performed as a soloist, guest musician, principal, or section member with many ensembles including the American Symphony Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke's, Baltimore Pops, Jacksonville Pops, Dance Theater of Harlem, and the National Grand Opera. On Broadway, he has performed as a drummer or percussionist for almost two dozen Broadway and Off-Broadway productions including Matilda the Musical.
In the popular field, Mr. Joines has performed and/or recorded with Jewel, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Bobby Brown, Björk, Michael McDonald, Mark Anthony, Brian McKnight, Ann-Margret, and The Mamas and the Papas, among many others. You may already have heard his playing on numerous radio and television commercials (including Coca-Cola, Miller Beer, and Maxwell House), on motion picture scores and soundtracks (Across the Universe, The Alamo, Snake Eyes, Twilight, The Age of Innocence, Peggy Sue Got Married, Little Shop of Horrors, Femme Fatale, and an on-camera appearance in Jennifer Lopez’s Maid in Manhattan), or perhaps seen or heard him on television. Mr. Joines has appeared in character on the daytime drama, Guiding Light, on the MTV Music Video Awards, recorded for Sesame Street, and has performed on Today, Good Morning America, and The Joan Rivers Show.
As a conductor, Mr. Joines has stood on the podium for the Broadway shows Ghost the Musical, Billy Elliot, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Miss Saigon, Jesus Christ Superstar, Flower Drum Song, and The Full Monty, and he was the originating Music Director and Conductor for the United States national tour of Flower Drum Song. From 2000 to 2013, he served as an Assistant Conductor for the Radio City Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall, and is currently the Hall’s Orchestra Contractor. He also played a series of dates as the drummer and conductor for Marvin Hamlisch, conducting the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Orlando Philharmonic, the Utah Symphony, the Dayton Philharmonic, and the Florida Orchestra.
As a music coordinator and contractor, Mr. Joines has the pleasure of hiring New York's finest musicians for Broadway productions, recordings, and concerts. Broadway shows he was worked on include Allegiance, Aladdin, Finding Neverland, Matilda the Musical, Side Show, Bullets Over Broadway, A Night with Janis Joplin, Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, Chaplin the Musical, Scandalous, and Ghost the Musical. He assembled the orchestras for NBC’s presentations of The Sound of Music Live! and Peter Pan LIVE!, and recorded the song “Last Call” for the Coen brother’s film, Hail, Caesar!
In addition to being a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with John Beck and conducted the infamous Eastman Marimba Band and the Chamber Percussion Ensemble, Mr. Joines earned his Bachelor of Music Education at the University of Southern Mississippi.
