Nicholas Daniel has long been acknowledged as one of the world’s great oboe players, and is one of Britain’s best known musicians. In a distinguished career that began more than four decades ago he has become an important ambassador in many different musical fields, most recently the “Every Child a Musician” Campaign, and has significantly enlarged the repertoire for his instrument with the commissioning of hundreds of new works.

Nicholas dedicates his life to music in many varied ways. He records and broadcasts widely, and he boasts a huge following internationally on social media particularly on YouTube with over 1,000,000 views. He has directed several music festivals and concert series, most notably in Germany and Dartington, and has been Music Director of the highly successful Leicester International Music Festival and lunchtime series for many years. He is much in demand as a teacher and is Professor at the Trossingen Musikhochschule in Germany and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

In recognition of his achievements he was honoured in 2012 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with the prestigious Queen’s Medal for Music, and cited as having made “an outstanding contribution to the musical life of the nation”.

Having sung as in the choir of Salisbury Cathedral as a boy, Nicholas was put directly into the spotlight at the age of 18 when he won the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition. After a short period of study at London’s Royal Academy of Music he quickly established his career with early debuts at the BBC Proms and on disc. He has been a concerto soloist with many of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, performing a huge range of repertoire from Bach to Xenakis and beyond, premiering works written for him by composers including Harrison Birtwistle, Henri Dutilleux, James MacMillan, Thea Musgrave, John Tavener and Michael Tippett, as well as encouraging many younger composers to write for the oboe. His recording of concertos by Vaughan Williams and MacMillan was awarded the BBC Music Magazine Premiere Award in 2016.

As a chamber musician, as well as being a Camerata Pacifica Principal Artist, Nicholas is a founder member of the award-winning Britten Sinfonia, the Haffner Wind Ensemble and the Britten Oboe Quartet, and is a popular guest at music festivals all over the world.

Nicholas Daniel is proud to play Marigaux Oboes, including the world’s first “fair-trade” Mozambique Mpingo wood Oboe, certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and made especially for him in Paris.