Quentin H. Poole (born 1957) is an English

oboist An oboist (formerly hautboist) is a musician who plays the oboe or any oboe family instrument, including the oboe d'amore, cor anglais or English horn, bass oboe and piccolo oboe or oboe musette. The following is a list of notable past a ...

, conductor and former boy chorister, who served as Head Chorister of

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

. Poole was born in Surrey, England, the son of Joseph W. Poole and Esme B. Mounsey Poole, but he grew up, as the youngest of five children, at

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed ...

, where his father was

Precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

of Coventry Cathedral. He learned piano from the age of seven and trained under Sir

David Willcocks Sir David Valentine Willcocks, (30 December 1919 – 17 September 2015) was a British choral conductor, organist, composer and music administrator. He was particularly well known for his association with the Choir of King's College, Cambridge ...

at King's College, where he joined the choir aged nine. He also took up the flute there. He subsequently sang in the choir of The King's School, Canterbury, and was a member of the

National Youth Orchestra A youth orchestra is an orchestra made of young musicians, typically ranging from pre-teens or teenagers to those of conservatory age. Depending on the age range and selectiveness, they may serve different purposes. Orchestras for young studen ...

. He studied at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge and then at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke ...

under Janet Craxton. Poole was a founder, member and oboist of the

Endymion Ensemble Endymion, formerly Endymion Ensemble, is an English chamber music ensemble, founded in 1979 and dedicated to contemporary classical music. History One of the founding members was John Whitfield who often conducted the group. Players have incl ...

and later its conductor. He was also principal oboe for the City of London Sinfonia and other orchestras and chamber groups. He was

Director of Music A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the d ...

of the Purcell School from 2001, from which he was made redundant in 2013. He was made a

Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

in 2004. He appeared as a castaway on the

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

programme ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (us ...

'' on 26 December 1970. He was 13 at the time; the programme's youngest guest. His picture was published in a contemporary issue of the ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Poole, Quentin 1957 births Living people English classical oboists Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Fellows of the Royal Academy of Music Male oboists British music educators Musicians from Surrey Choristers of the Choir of King's College, Cambridge