Black, Nigel (1960-Present)

Horn player who attended the Royal College of Music and studied under the watchful eye of Douglas Moore. After graduating, he took up the principal horn post with the Opera Orchestra of La Scala.

Other groups with whom he has performed include the European Union Youth Orchestra, the Havant Orchestras, the London Symphony Orchestra, the National Youth Orchestra, the Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra,and the Wimbledon Symphony Orchestra.

On 24^th June 1980, he participated in “A Celebration for the Life of John Culshaw” at Kingsway Hall in London, England, he appeared on the soundtrack of Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981 and on 13^th February 1982, he was a soloist with the Havant Orchestras. He rounded out the decade with two more recordings, Fantasia for Double Orchestra; Viola Concerto; Concertant in Moto Perpetuo and Vaughan Williams: The Nine Symphonies.

In 1993, he became the principal horn of the Philharmonia Orchestra of London.

CDs on which he appeared in the early to mid-‘90s comprise the soundtrack of Funny Bones, Mercadante: Decimini/La Poesia, and Vaughan Williams: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4; Fantasia on Greensleeves.

In 1996, he was a member of The Michael Nyman Band and played horn and Wagner tuba on Michael’s score of The Ogre.

He played on Paul McCartney’s Flaming Pie, The Peacemaker soundtrack, and the Philharmonia’s Schumann: Symphony No. 2; “Manfred” Overture; Konzertstuck for 4 Horns in 1997.

In 1998, his name graced the credits of Beethoven: Funeral Cantata; Schumann: Konzertstuck, Op. 86; Pfitzner: Palestrina, Deutsche Grammophon Centenary Collection, 1988-1997, Rob Dougan’s Furious Angels, and the soundtrack of The Man in the Iron Mask.

He ended the 1990s with a flourish, performing on the following CDs: Aria, Vol. 2: New Horizon by Paul Schwartz; Bernard Herrmann – Joel McNeely – The Twilight Zone (The Complete Scores); The Essential Beethoven; The Essential Mozart; The London Horn Sound; La Potenza d’Amore, and the soundtrack of The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc.

Neither did he slow down in the early 2000s: He contributed his talents to Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell, Earthbound by Paul Schwartz, the Ghost Ship soundtrack, Let it Come Down by Spiritualized, Love is… Like a Breeze by Michael Civisca, Out of Season by Beth Gibbons and Rustin Man, Swing When You’re Winning by Robbie Williams, and Vaughan Williams: A Pastoral Symphony; Symphony No. 4 in F minor; English Folk Song Suite.

On 29^th June 2002, he was the featured soloist with the Wimbledon Symphony Orchestra at St. Matthew’s Church in Raynes Park on Richard Strauss’s “Horn Concerto No. 2 in E flat”. The evening was rounded out by Zoltan Kodaly’s “Dances from Galanta”, Felix Mendelssohn’s “Notturno for Wind Instruments, Op. 24”, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Symphony No. 39 in E flat, K. 543”.

Nigel was one of several musicians who assisted Andrew Hugill on his book, The Orchestra: A User’s Manual, which was put together in 2002 and 2003.

In 2003, he appeared on Dear Catastrophe Waitress by Belle & Sebastian, In My Heart (Nel Mio Cuore): 17^th and 18^th Century Italian Songsby Ramon Vargas, Real World by D-Side, Somethin’ Stupid by Nicole Kidman and Robbie Williams, and The Way I Am by Jennifer Knapp.

These were followed by Joni Mitchell’s Dreamland, Nightwish’s Once and Vanessa Williams’ Silver & Gold in 2004.

In 2004, he became the head of the brass department at the Royal College of Music. His students have included Nuno Costa, Carys Evans, Danielle Flarty, Olly Green, Nicholas Hougham, Chris Pointon, Katie Pryce, and Bethan Watkeys.

He appeared on the following CDs in 2005: Everlasting Love by Vanessa Williams; Life in Slow Motion by David Gray; Sassified by Joe Sass; and, To Love Again by Chris Botti.

On 23^rd October 2005, he participated in the British Horn Society’s 25^th Anniversary Celebration Festival Gala Finale as a member of the BHS All Star Horn Ensemble. Their program was a mixed bag that comprised “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Freddie Mercury, “Caravan” by Duke Ellington, “Czardas” by Vittorio Monti, “Egmont Overture” by Ludwig van Beethoven, “Konzertstuck” by Schumann, “Nocturno for Horn and Piano” by Franz Strauss, “Rondo for Horn and Piano” by Arnold Cooke, and “Siegfried’s Horn Call” from Die Gotterdammerung by Richard Wagner.

Nigel appeared the Blood Diamond soundtrack, Here’s to the Heroes by the Ten Tenors and New Vintage by Peter Grant in 2006.

On 26^th May 2006, he took part in the Joseph Horovitz 80^th birthday celebration at the Royal College of Music by conducting Zone One Brass on the opening piece, “Sinfonietta”. The birthday bash also featured several other works by Horovitz .

His 2007 credits included: Bainbridge: Concerto pour alto by the BBC Symphony Orchestra; Corno Cantabile with Vladimir Ashkenazy; David Gray’s Greatest Hits; and, the soundtracks of The Bourne Ultimatum and 300.

On 15^th October 2007, he participated in the “Les Six” festival recital, “Poulenc and Milhaud for Voice and Ensemble”.

He was on the BBC-TV program Songs of Praise on 21^st October 2007, which celebrated the 300^th anniversary of Charles Wesley, who wrote hymns such as “And Can it Be?”, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”, “Love Divine”, “My God, I Am Thine”, and “O Thou Who Camest from Above”.

The long-awaited sequel to The London Horn Sound, Give it One, was recorded in 2007 and 2008.

In 2008, Nigel appeared William Sheller’s Avatars, The Classical Album 2009, the soundtrack of Defiance, Indiana Jones: The Soundtrack Collection, and Vaughan Williams: The Collector’s Edition.

These were followed by Chess in Concert with the London concert cast, the self-titled God Help the Girl, Lokikirja by Nightwish and Mahler: Symphony No. 2 by the London Symphony Orchestra in 2009.

On 20^th January 2009, he served as a special tutor at Brass Bonanza!, which was held at The Purcell School.

The Philharmonia teamed up with soloist Nikolai Lugansky at Royal Festival Hall on 17^th April 2009 for Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “Piano Concerto No. 2”, which was sandwiched between Rachmaninoff’s “The Isle of the Dead” and Igor Stravinsky’s “Firebird Suite”.

On 26^th April 2009, Nigel was back on Songs of Praise, this time honouring St. George’s Day with The Choir of St. George’s Chapel and host Diane Louise Jordan.

He served as a contractor of sorts in the autumn of 2009 when he assembled brass musicians for “Cors of Actions – A Concert in Aid of Cystic Fibrosis Trust” and in 2010, he appeared on Bleach the Movie: The Hell Verse Original Soundtrack, Foundling by David Gray, and the soundtrack of Tron: Legacy.

He hosted a lecture lunch as part of the Philharmonia’s Conductors’ Circle Events in April 2010 at the Travellers Club in London, England.

On 21^st June 2010, he and fellow Royal College of Music professor Richard Hosford joined some of their students for “Rising Stars 2010” and a performance of Mozart’s “Serenade in C minor” at Cadogan Hall.

Nigel’s 2011 recording credits included the boxed set, Leonard Slatkin Conducts Vaughan Williams, and Walton, Shostakovich: Cello Concertos with Alexander Briger conducting the Philharmonia and cellist Jamie Walton.

Lorin Maazel was at the podium when the Philharmonia presented an all-Mahler program on 7^th May 2011 that included excerpts from “Das Knaben Wunderhorn” and “Symphony No. 5”, with mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly and baritone Matthias Goerne.

On 5^th July 2011, Nigel split directing duties with Richard Ward as the RCM Brass Ensemble and Zone One Brass shared the stage at Amaryllis Fleming Concert hall. Their program comprised “Fanfares, Marches, Hymns & Finale” and “Harlequin” by Bruce Boughton, “Fanfare for the Common Man” by Aaron Copland and “Three Episodes from An American in Paris” by George Gershwin.

He performs here…

Sources:

Black, Nigel (1960-Present)

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