Howard Frazin was raised in Lincolnwood, Illinois, and graduated from Niles West High School.
He received a bachelor of arts in English from the University of Michigan in 1985 before beginning his formal musical training at the New England Conservatory, where he studied between 1984 and 1989.
"[1] Among his most noted works is the oratorio, The Voice of Isaac, commissioned by PALS Children's Chorus and published by Edition Peters.
[3] Writing in The Boston Globe after its March 2003 premiere at Jordan Hall, the critic Richard Dyer described it as "clear in design and Brittenesque in texture," going on to note, "in the children's voices, the story took on an almost unbearable poignancy.
His works were regularly featured on the school's SeptemberFest, including Amid a Crowd of Stars for baritone and orchestra, which inaugurated the reopening of Pickman Hall after extensive renovations.