Straddling the disparate worlds of brass band music and contemporary repertory, to both of which he brought discerning expertise, the conductor Elgar Howarth, who has died aged 89, made a noteworthy contribution to both genres.
His education in Manchester, at the university and at the Royal Manchester College of Music (where he studied composition and trumpet), brought him into close proximity with pioneering composers such as Harrison Birtwistle, Peter Maxwell Davies and Alexander Goehr. Together with the pianist John Ogdon, they formed the New Music Manchester group in 1953, giving concerts of 12-note or serial pieces unheard elsewhere.
