Introducing the woodwind players of the London Symphony Orchestra.
> Flutes and Piccolo
> Oboes and Cor Anglais
> Clarinets
> Bassoons
Flutes and Piccolo
![]() Gareth Davies: Principal ‘I saw Solti conduct the LSO when I was at college in 1992: Mozart's Haffner Symphony and Maher Symphony No 5. It was breathtaking. I knew then that I simply had to play in this extraordinary group of musicians.’ |
![]() Sharon Williams: Principal Piccolo ‘Having wanted to learn an instrument at school, after chime bars, the only option was the violin. My parents thought ‘we can’t face that scratching sound, how about the flute?’ (James Galway was at number one in the charts). I was very small and the teacher started me on piccolo, not the flute – so it wasn’t much better for their ears!’ |
Oboes and Cor Anglais
![]() Olivier Stankiewicz, Principal 'I grew up in a very musical family and had many interests (for a long time I contemplated scientific studies), yet music always moved me on a deeper level. When I got my trial in the LSO, I was struck by the awesome level in the first rehearsal, the buzz was incredible. Since then, it continues to be a very exciting adventure.' |
![]() Juliana Koch, Principal 'I‘ll never forget the first rehearsal I was invited to play with the LSO – getting immersed in that sound was like a drug that immediately got me hooked. The day they offered me the job, I couldn’t believe my luck and just kept asking them if they were really sure…' |
![]() Rosie Jenkins ‘I was lucky enough to grow up in an area with a fantastic music service – my school orchestra and our county orchestra were both great! We went on tours, played Mahler symphonies and I thought it was marvellous! So I decided to practice as hard as I could, listen to as much music as possible and see if I could make a living by playing the oboe.’ |
![]() Christine Pendrill, Principal Cor Anglais ‘Having heard the LSO play Peter and the Wolf in a schools’ concert when I was nine, my burning ambition was to play the clarinet. Fate took a different turn when I was handed an oboe at school and the rest is history!’ |
Clarinets
![]() Chris Richards, Principal ‘Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Mozart’s Gran Partita both drew me to the clarinet, which I began learning aged eight (after an attempt at the violin). I first heard the LSO live in 1994 on a National Youth Orchestra trip to hear the orchestra with Sir Colin Davis and Radu Lupu playing Mozart and Sibelius – a thrilling experience I will never forget!’ |
![]() Chi-Yu Mo, Principal E-flat Clarinet ‘Whilst studying with Nicholas Rodwell, former LSO Principal Clarinet, I attended many LSO concerts. I was inspired particularly by the beautiful woodwind sound, leading me to regard the Orchestra as being the one ensemble in the world that I should aspire to becoming a part of.’ |
Bassoons
![]() Rachel Gough, Principal ‘Having spent many years sawing away on the violin, I decided I’d like to try a wind instrument with a deeper sound, so I chose the bassoon. Little did I know back then that bassoons have the most fabulous position in the orchestra, sitting right in the middle, surrounded by incredible music-making.’ |
![]() Daniel Jemison, Principal ‘Even before I started to learn an instrument, I was thrilled by the sound of the LSO on my brother's Star Wars soundtrack record – luckily he didn't mind me borrowing it...’ |
![]() Joost Bosdijk 'Classical music wasn’t really part of my upbringing, but I remember loving hearing it. A friend played clarinet: rather than waiting for her to finishing practising, I joined the same wind band on clarinet (the waiting list for saxophone was too long). A year and lots of begging my parents later, I bought a bassoon with money earned with weekend and holiday jobs.' |
![]() Dominic Morgan, Principal Contra Bassoon ‘Both my parents were passionate musicians so music was all around us when I was growing up. It’s was just a natural thing to do. I started on the flute but my school had a bassoon no one was using. I had a go at that and the rest is history.’ |