Nicholas Daniel, one of the UK’s finest and most popular oboists is playing atKing’s College Cambridge

A CAMBRIDGE musician was given a standing ovation at King’s College Hall last night when Sir Peter Maxwell Davies announced him this year’s winner of the revered Queen’s Medal for Music.

Oboist and conductor Nicholas Daniel is one of the founding members of the Cambridge-Based Britten Sinfonia chamber orchestra and follows in the footsteps of bass-bariton Bryn Terfel and conductor Sir Colin Davis by being presented with the medal by Her Majesty later this year.

Sir Peter, master of the Queen’s music, made an ‘informal’ announcement of Mr Daniel’s extraordinary accomplishment at last night’s concert where Mr Daniel performed Britten’s Metamorphoses after Ovid and, as part of the Haffner Wind Ensemble, Mozart’s Gran Partita for 13 wind instruments.

Sir Peter told the audience that Mr Daniel had greatly increased the repertoire of the oboe by dozens of contemporary composers having been commissioned to write for him.

He said: “Nicholas is not just a great virtuoso and not just someone who goes on a platform and works wonders but somebody who has made a musical contribution to benefit the health and wealth of the nation’s music.

“I shall be introducing him to the Queen and he shall be receiving a medal from Her Majesty herself.”

Mr Daniel told the audience: “I’ve known this night was going to happen but it is still such a joyous surprise.”

The Britten Sinfonia has residency at Cambridge’s West Road Concert Hall and Mr Daniel is in the process of establishing the Britten Sinfonia Academy to nurture the musicality of youngsters aged from 12 to 18 across East Anglia.

Mr Daniel stressed the academy will not seek to rival the likes of the Cambridge Youth Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra but will complement them with week-long projects leading to performances held in school holidays.