Archie Camden (9 March 1888 – 16 February 1979) was a British

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

ist; he was a pedagogue and soloist of international acclaim. His career began in 1906 when he joined the Hallé Orchestra, where he became principal bassoonist in 1914. In 1933 he moved to the

BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. T ...

, where he stayed until 1946 when he took up the same position in the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

. Camden was also one of the first bassoonists to experiment with recording. His record of the

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

bassoon concerto still remains one of the most popular today. As a teacher, he was a professor of the bassoon at the Royal Manchester (now Northern) College of Music from 1914 to 1933; he later taught at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

in London. His most famous students included

Roger Birnstingl Roger Birnstingl is a British classical bassoonist. He started playing the bassoon at age 14, Educated at Bedales School and later studied with Archie Camden at the Royal College of Music in London. He has served as principal bassoonist of the ...

, Michael Chapman, and

Martin Gatt Martin Gatt (born 1937 in Aberdeen) is a British Classical music, classical bassoonist. He studied under Archie Camden at the Royal College of Music in London. He served as principal bassoonist of the London Philharmonic Orchestra from 1958 to 1 ...

. He also conducted the London Stock Exchange Orchestra. In 1962, Camden published his book "Bassoon Technique." He was awarded an OBE in 1969. Camden and his wife, Joyce had two boys who both went onto to study at the

Royal School of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

, Kerry and

Anthony Camden Anthony Camden (26 April 1938 – 7 March 2006) was the Principal Oboe and Chairman of the Board at the London Symphony Orchestra. He was also a founding member of the ensemble London Virtuosi and went on to become the Provost and Director of th ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Camden, Archie 1888 births 1979 deaths English classical bassoonists Academics of the Royal College of Music Officers of the Order of the British Empire Place of birth missing 20th-century classical musicians