Nicholas Daniel

A CAMBRIDGE musician has been awarded the revered Queen’s Medal for Music for his outstanding contribution to the musical life of the nation.

Oboist and conductor Nicholas Daniel – one of the founding members of the Cambridge-based Britten Sinfonia chamber orchestra – is to follow in the footsteps of Bryn Terfel, Sir Colin Davis and Dame Emma Kirkby and be presented with the medal by Her Majesty later in the year.

An announcement of the dad-of-two’s extraordinary achievement will be made by English composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies at a concert given at King’s College Hall in Cambridge on Sunday in which Mr Daniel is performing.

Mr Daniel said he was with Sir Colin Davis when the conductor received the prestigious accolade in 2009.

He said he was “absolutely shocked” to receive a call from Sir Peter, who told him that this year it was his turn to win the sought-after prize only established in 2005.

“As a performer my job is to serve the composers I perform as best I can,” said Mr Daniel.

“So to have my vocation acknowledged in this way is really wonderful.

“As a solo oboist, chamber musician, conductor and teacher I have been extremely privileged to have worked and to continue to work with so many great musicians.”

Mr Daniel, who has just turned 50, is a proud ambassador of British music naming the Britten Sinfonia after Suffolk-born composer Benjamin Britten.

Although the internationally-acclaimed chamber orchestra established in 1992 has its residency at Cambridge’s West Road Concert Hall, it seeks to grow the cultural life of residents across East Anglia.

Mr Daniel, who lives in St Neots, said while he is proud of his past achievements, his passion lies in promoting British music and moving the genre of classical music into the future.

“The important part of being a musician is not living in the past but it’s like being an actor playing a role now,” he said.

“How marvellously you might’ve played last week is irrelevant.

“Hundreds of composers have written especially for me which has given the oboe and British composers a whole new repertoire and we always take British music with us wherever we go.”

Having recently toured South America, the Britten Sinfonia was last week named the associate ensemble at the Barbican in London, alongside the Academy of Ancient Music, for the 2012-13 concert series.

Chief executive of the chamber orchestra David Butcher said it was a great opportunity for Cambridge as it would help bring new musical and dance performances to the city.

“The great thing we’re trying to do as an orchestra is to have 
flexibility in terms of repertoire,” he said.

“One day we’re playing Poulenc in Cambridge and then we’re performing works by the great British composer Thomas Adès at the Lincoln Center in New York or working with Rufus Wainwright at the Royal Opera House.”

Sir Peter said he was delighted to announce Mr Daniel as the recipient of this year’s Queen’s Medal for Music at Sunday’s concert which sees him perform with the Haffner Wind Ensemble – the wind section of the Britten Sinfonia.

He said: “I can’t think of a more deserving person, given his reputation not only as one of our most highly regarded oboists but also a leading ambassador for the musical life of the nation.”

Cellist and artist-in-residence at Cambridge Corn Exchange Julian Lloyd Webber said he first heard Mr Daniel perform when he was judging the final of the BBC Young Musician of the Year in 1980.

“It was obvious that he was destined for great things and we gave him the first prize,” he said.

“Nicholas has strong links with Cambridge, not least through his work with Britten Sinfonia.

“Cambridge is recognised as a centre of excellence within the classical music world, with its rich and unique musical heritage.

“As artist-in-residence at Cambridge Corn Exchange, I am delighted with the prestige this accolade confers on the city and on Nicholas himself.”

Huntingdon-based solo percussionist Evelyn Glennie is a close friend of Mr Daniel’s and said she was thrilled for him to receive such a well-deserved honour.

She said: “For several decades Nicholas has been at the cutting edge of contemporary music on a worldwide scale through his tireless dedication to the commissioning and promotion of new music.”