Som Howie

Som currently holds the position of Associate Principal Clarinet with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. Prior to this, he held the position of solo clarinetist with the Danish Chamber Players.

Originally from Sydney, Som began playing clarinet at the age of 11 with Mark Walton until he started his bachelor’s degree at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. During his time in Sydney, he studied with Cathy McCorkill and Sue Newsome and completed his final years with Frank Celata. After moving to Europe in 2014, Som completed a master’s degree with Hermann Stefánsson and Andreas Sundén at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm.

As an orchestral musician, Som has performed with major orchestras around the world, including the Swedish Radio Symphony, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Royal Swedish Opera, Copenhagen Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony, Australian Opera and Ballet, and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. He has toured to Edinburgh with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and to India with the Australian World Orchestra.

In 2016, Som was selected for the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra Academy. Prior to this, he held academy positions with the Sydney Symphony and the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s Future Firsts Scheme. He has attended masterclasses with Sabine Meyer, Andrew Marriner, Martin Fröst, and Yehuda Gilad.

As a soloist, Som has performed concertos with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Willoughby Symphony Orchestra, the Southbank Sinfonia in the UK, and, in 2016, he recorded English composer Geoffrey Hanson’s Clarinet Concerto with the London Mozart Players.

In 2015, Som was a prizewinner for the Royal Overseas League (ROSL) Annual Competition, and as a result, toured with his trio, the Dolmen Ensemble, on behalf of ROSL to Malta, Scotland, and New Zealand. In the same year, he recorded his first solo album with his father, David Howie. The album, titled Premiere Rhapsody, was produced by UK-based record label Cala Records.

Som is a Buffet Crampon Artist and a scholar of the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust.

In his spare time, Som loves spending time at the beach, playing cricket and soccer, and looking for all the best coffee spots.