symphony spotlight
Meet Joy Howell
conroe symphony Principal Second Violin
The Yellow Rose Violin
Meet Joy Howell, Principal Second Violin, 26 seasons with the Conroe Symphony Orchestra.
Joy Howell’s violin has a name. It’s called the Yellow Rose Violin, and there is not another one like it in the world.
Built for Joy in 2000, a gift from her husband Joseph, the instrument is a work of art in its own right: a beautiful yellow rose painted on the back plate, rosewood fittings, and tiny sculpted yellow roses on the tuning pegs. Her name is printed on the back.
When Joy was asked for a favorite memory from her time with the CSO, she pointed instead to this — the violin she’s poured 26 seasons of music through.
Her story with the instrument started long before that, in an after-school program in Houston ISD, where she picked up the violin in third grade. It became a lifelong calling. Joy spent 18 years as an instructional aide in Conroe ISD and taught orchestra for 10 of them, alongside her husband Joseph.
Ask her what she loves most about playing with the orchestra, and her answer is pure poetry:
“I love the music. There is nothing to compare with being part of an ocean of sound.”
-Joy Howell
Music, for Joy, is a family affair. She and Joseph — a retired violinist, former CSO member, and 16-year Conroe ISD orchestra teacher — raised two daughters who both play the flute. Their eldest, Jennifer Mixon, is a music teacher married to a band director, Chase. And together, Joy, Joseph, and their daughter perform as H3, the Howell Trio.
Her own musical loves run from the Baroque to Beethoven. “I love Beethoven,” she says, “but wouldn’t want to be without the baroque composers, particularly Bach and Vivaldi.” Her all-time favorite piece? Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons.
Joy credits two conductors with shaping her along the way — Harry Lantz of the Houston All-City Orchestra and Ernest Hagen of the Sam Houston State University Orchestra. Beyond the CSO, she led the second violins in The Woodlands Methodist Church Chancel Orchestra for 11 years, and she has served as the CSO’s principal second violinist for all 26 of her seasons.
Her advice to young musicians is short, and earned over a lifetime of practice rooms:
“Practice! Only you can decide how far you progress.”
-Joy Howell
Twenty-six seasons in, Joy is still doing what she loves most, disappearing into that ocean of sound, one bow stroke of the Yellow Rose Violin at a time. (And yes, she’ll tell you she can’t do any of it without her morning coffee first.)
Joy, Off The Stage
She Can Not Live Without?
coffee
Favorite Musical Piece
Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons”.
Music Runs In The Family
• Two daughters play the flute.
• Eldest daughter Jennifer Mixon s a music teacher & son-in-law, Chase is a band director.
• Husband Joseph Howell is a retired violinist, former CSO member
• Joy & Joseph taught orchestra in Conroe ISD for 10 & 16 years, respectively.
Together Perform as H3
The Howell Trio
Notable Accomplishments
Principal Second Violin
For ALL 26 Seasons
led the second violins in The Woodlands Methodist Church Chancel Orchestra for 11 years
Started Playing violin in third grade at after school program
Come Hear Joy For Yourself
“The musicians in the orchestra must have music in their hearts to make such a sacrifice to come to rehearsals after their day jobs. They just have music-making as part of their lives.”
— Gary Liebst, Music Director
To Learn More About Our Musicians
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