Nicholas Cox

Photo by Peter Maren

Educated at the King's School, Canterbury and St.Catharine's College Cambridge, Nicholas Cox studied clarinet with Hans Deinzer at the Musikhochschule in Hanover on a German Government scholarship.  An English Speaking Union Scholarship enabled him to further his study at the Aspen Music School. 

Most prestigious among his awards are the Gold Medal and First Prize at the 1984 Royal Over-Seas League Music Competition in London, and 2nd prize at the 1987 Jeunesses Musicales International Clarinet Competition where he was also awarded the Composers' Prize for his performance of contemporary music. 

Since 1991 he has been Principal Clarinet of the Milton Keynes City Orchestra with whom he has played concertos by Finzi, Weber Mozart and John Dankworth.  In 1992 he was appointed Principal Clarinet of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra with whom he has played concertos by Copland, Weber, Nielsen, Richard Strauss, Bruch and Mozart.  In October 1999 he gave the world première of Adam Gorb's Clarinet Concerto commissioned for him and the RLPO.  In his career he has been a guest principal clarinet with most of London's orchestras including the Philharmonia, RPO, London Sinfonietta, LSO and BBC Symphony. 

As a soloist he has appeared at Britain's most important festivals and concert halls including the Wigmore and Queen Elizabeth Halls, Edinburgh Festival, Cheltenham, Brighton and Huddersfield.  With pianist Vanessa Latarche he has recorded several programmes for BBC Radio 3 and he has played concertos with the City of London Sinfonia, North German Radio Orchestra, Milton Keynes City Orchestra, Prague Symphony Orchestra and the RLPO. Several composers have written works for him including Hugh Wood, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, Jonathan Lloyd, Andrei Eshpai, Alan Ridout and Francis Routh.  In July 97 he was invited to represent Britain at the International Clarinet Association Congress in Texas where he gave the American première of a recent Sonata by the British composer Adam Gorb. 

His first CD of sonatas by Brahms and Reger was released in 1994 on the UNITED label (88012). Classic FM featured a track of this disc on their compilation disc "The World's Greatest Wind Music".  His second disc (REDCLIFFE 010) featured works for Clarinet and Strings by Bliss, Rawsthorne and Routh has received very favourable reviews. Other recordings include Stravinsky's Soldier'sTale with the Northern Chamber Orchestra on Naxos and the complete Beethoven Symphonies with the RLPO on EMI.  Solo tours and masterclasses have taken him to Europe, the USA, the Far East and Russia. He has also worked with the Brodsky, Medici and Endellion Quartets and Manchester's Camerata Ensemble. 

As the Administrator of the re-formed Rodewald Concert Society which promotes concerts of chamber music in Liverpool, he has helped in putting chamber music back on the city's cultural agenda. He is a Senior Lecturer in Clarinet at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.

MARCH 2002

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