Born in 1984, James Turnbull began playing the oboe aged 7. After a period of private tuition, James studied with Irene Pragnell at the Junior Guildhall School of Music and Drama, before learning with Melanie Ragge at the Junior Academy of Music. In July 2005 he graduated with First Class Honours in Music from Christ Church, Oxford University. The following year he completed his Postgraduate Diploma in Performance and LRAM Teaching Diploma at the Royal Academy of Music. While at the R.A.M. James studied concurrently with Celia Nicklin, Tess Miller and Chris Cowie and took masterclasses with Alexei Ogrintchouk, Ingo Goritziki, Francois Leleux, Hansjorg Schellenberger and Douglas Boyd. Since September 2006, James has been studying with Professor Nicholas Daniel at the Trossingen University of Music in Germany.
As a soloist, James has performed live on BBC Radio 3’s ‘In Tune’ and on BBC Television’s ‘Songs of Praise’. Aged 18, James was awarded an English Speaking Union ‘Menuhin Banff’ scholarship to further his studies with an intensive masterclass course under American oboist Richard Killmer in Banff, Canada. As well as recitals, James has performed several concertos. In 2001 he played Bach Concerto for Oboe and Violin in St. John's Smith Square and also on tour in Japan. In 2007 he performed Mozart Sinfonia Concertante K297b with the Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz in Germany. As well as being selected for the Countess of Munster recital scheme, he has recently been awarded funding by the Harriet Cohen Memorial Musical Trust to complete his first professional recording.
James is also an active chamber musician and has recently formed a new ensemble in Germany that is currently commissioning several new works from young composers. In 2004 James performed Mozart’s Quintet K406b with the Allegri Quartet as part of their Jubilee Season. James has also performed ‘Gran Partita’ for 13 Winds at the Cheltenham Festival under the direction of Douglas Boyd and in the festival orchestra at the Oxford Chamber Music Festival in 2006 appearing with Natalie Clein and Priya Mitchell amongst others. In January 2008 he completed a series of wind octet concerts with Nicholas Daniel and the Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz.
James’ orchestral experience includes three years in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain (2000-2). While he was Principal Oboe in 2002, James played under Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Colin Davis and Andrew Litton. During his study at university James was Principal Oboe in the Oxford University Orchestra before playing in the London Symphony Orchestra training scheme in 2006 whilst at the R.A.M. James currently freelances with orchestras abroad such as the Russian Chamber Orchestra of St. Petersburg and PolyphonieT in Germany.
James is grateful for the generous support he has received from the Countess of Munster Trust, Musicians Benevolent Fund and AHRC in funding his postgraduate education.
Last updated March 2008
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