Howard Griffiths (conductor)

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For other people of the same name, see Howard Griffiths (disambiguation).

Howard Griffiths is a British conductor. He studied music at the Royal College of Music, London.

He has lived in Switzerland since 1981. From 1996 to 2006, he was chief conductor and artistic director of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra (Zürcher Kammerorchester, ZKO). Griffiths is a champion of music by contemporary Turkish and Swiss composers. With the ZKO, he has also conducted works in a classical and classical modern range, including CDs of Haydn's Creation, symphonies by Mozart and Ferdinand Ries and works by Beethoven, Pleyel, Cherubini and Handel. He has recorded over 60 CDs under various labels.

In the UK, Griffiths was principal guest conductor of the Oxford Orchestra da Camera from 1994 to 1997. He has also been artistic director of the Orpheum Foundation for the Promotion of Young Soloists since 2000. He was appointed MBE in the 2006 New Year Honours.

Griffiths is married to a Turkish viola player in the Zurich Opera orchestra. They have a son, who is a conductor.