21 Jul Welcoming John Roberts as our Principal Oboe
ECO are delighted to announce the appointment of John Roberts as our new principal oboe
Born in Glasgow, John took up the oboe aged 10, and dabbled in composition and piano before taking up studies at the Royal College of Music. Since 2011, he has performed worldwide, specialising as an orchestral principal oboe, and since 2013 he has held the position of Principal Oboe in the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
John first played with the English Chamber Orchestra in summer 2015, joining them for a memorable tour of China, and since then has enjoyed regular appearances, including several as a Concerto Grosso soloist.
As well as orchestral concerts, John likes to participate in music making on a smaller scale as much as possible.
He regularly performs in Classical Pop Ups, a series of one-off gatherings featuring chamber music in eclectic venues around the capital, and has performed for Nonclassical, who present classical, contemporary and crossover music in spaces normally associated with the pop music scene. Recent chamber performances in London have also included appearances with London Winds and London Sinfonietta. As a concerto soloist John has played in diverse venues from London’s Cadogan Hall to the Presidential Palace in Libreville, Gabon.
John is a lover of the great outdoors and in particular is a keen rider of bikes – most recently, after two highly enjoyable concerts with the ECO in the Murten Classics series, Switzerland, he and embarked on a solo bicycle tour of the Swiss and French alps. He enjoys eating and drinking well, and is an enthusiastic, if not wholly successful, amateur chef.