Nicholas Daniel (born 9 January 1962) is a British oboist and conductor. In 2003 he was appointed Artistic Director of the

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

International Music Festival.

Education

He was educated at

Salisbury Cathedral School Salisbury Cathedral School is a co-educational independent school in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, which was founded in 1091 by Saint Osmund. The choristers of Salisbury Cathedral are educated at the school. History The school was founded in ...

and the Purcell School.

Awards

Daniel won the BBC Young Musician of the Year Competition in 1980 and was awarded the 2011 Queen's Medal for Music., cited as having made “an outstanding contribution to the musical life of the nation”. In 2016 his recording of concertos by Vaughan Williams and MacMillan was awarded the BBC Music Magazine Premiere Award. He was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the

2020 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2020 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...

for services to music.

Teaching posts

Daniel was Professor of Oboe at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama for ten years, then in 1997 became Professor of Oboe and Conducting at the Indiana University School of Music. He then was invited to be Prince Consort Professor of Oboe at the Royal College of Music in London. In 2004, he was named Professor of Oboe at the Musikhochschule in Trossingen, Germany.

Performing ensembles

Nicholas Daniel is a founding member of the Haffner Wind Ensemble and

Britten Sinfonia Britten Sinfonia is a chamber orchestra ensemble based in Cambridge, UK. It was created in 1992, following an initiative from Eastern Arts and a number of key figures including Nicholas Cleobury, who recognised the need for an orchestra in the ...

, and formed a duo with pianist Julius Drake in 1981. As Principal Oboe of Britten Sinfonia, Daniel has frequently appeared as a member of the orchestra and also as a soloist/director. In 2009 Britten Sinfonia released its first own label recording, which features Nicholas Daniel in John Tavener's ''Songs of the Sky''. In September 2021 Daniel was appointed as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor for th
Orion Orchestra

Commissions

Daniel has commissioned and premiered many new works for the oboe, to increase its status as a solo instrument. Such works include: * ''The Kingdom of Dreams'' by

John Woolrich John Woolrich ( ; born 1954 in Cirencester) is an English composer. Biography Woolrich has founded a group (the Composers Ensemble), a festival (Hoxton New Music Days), and has been composer in association with the Orchestra of St John's and th ...

(1989) * ''Double Concerto'' by Simon Bainbridge (1990) * ''An Interrupted Endless Melody'' by Harrison Birtwistle (1991) * ''First Grace of Light'' by Peter Maxwell Davies (1991) * ''Helios'' by Thea Musgrave (1994) * ''Oboe Concerto'' by

(1996) * ''Oboe Quintet'' by

(1998) * ''Oboe Concerto'' by Nigel Osborne (1998) * ''Three Capriccios'' for solo oboe by

(2001) * ''Two's Company'' by Thea Musgrave (2005) * ''The Fabric of Dreams'' by Michael Zev Gordon (2006) * ''Kaleidoscopes'' by John Tavener (2006) * ''Sorella'' by

Rory Boyle Rory Boyle is a Scottish composer and currently Professor of Composition at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Early life and education Boyle was born in Ayr, Scotland on 9 March 1951. His father was a Major in the Argyll and Sutherland Highl ...

(2007). * ''Oboe Concerto'' by James MacMillan (2010).

Recordings

Daniel has recorded many albums, both solo work and chamber music, such as: *Alwyn oboe concerto *Alwyn Chamber works *Alwyn Chamber works vol 2 *Alwyn Orchestral works *Arnold Orchestral works: Fantasia Conifer *Berkeley oboe concerto *Bliss Chamber works *Finzi Orchestral works: Eclogue *Finzi, Howells, Patterson works for oboe & piano *Horovitz oboe concerto * Elena Langer Landscape With Three People * Martinu Sinfonia Concertante * Moeran Fantasy Quartet *

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 ...

Sinfonia Concertante in E flat *

Wind Concertos *

Chamber works * Thea Musgrave Helios; Memento Vitae *Strauss Sinfonia no 2; oboe concerto *Woolrich The Ghost in the Machine *French Chamber Music for Woodwinds *French Oboe Sonatas *Five Italian Oboe Concertos *Oboe Alone *Oboe Sonatas with Julius Drake *Vaughan Williams and MacMillan oboe concertos

References

External links

Official site
1962 births Living people Academics of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama British classical oboists British male oboists British male conductors (music) Jacobs School of Music faculty Officers of the Order of the British Empire Place of birth missing (living people) People educated at Salisbury Cathedral School People educated at Purcell School 21st-century British conductors (music) 21st-century British male musicians {{woodwind-musician-stub