I have now been fortunate enough to play oboe and cor anglais with the NSSO for the past few years and very much enjoyed playing the Donizetti Concertino with them four years ago. I am honoured now to have the opportunity to play an unknown work by an unknown composer and hope that in time it will gain its rightful place in the cor repertoire and that it will be enjoyed by audiences.

Nigel's trumpet playing experiences have ranged from principal trumpet in Wychcraft, a Middlewich based Big Band, deputising roles in the Cheshire Sinfonia, the Wilmslow Symphony Orchestra and the NSSO whilst remaining a founder playing member of Gemini Brass.

Graham has performed concertos by Dvořák, Schumann, Haydn, Elgar and Tchaikovsky many times across the North West and the Midlands. This will be his fifth collaboration with the NSSO, and the first time that he has performed the Saint-Saëns Concerto. He has given solo recitals in Birmingham, Liverpool, St Helens, Manchester, Birkenhead and most recently in Knowle Green, Lancashire.

A consummate musician, Robert is equally at home as soloist and chamber musician. Recent engagements included appearances as soloist at Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall, the Leeds and Nottingham International Piano Series, and chamber music performances at Wigmore Hall and The Sage Gateshead.