Robin Williams

“Robin Williams’ heart-wrenching oboe solos were to die for in their sheer beauty” – The Herald

Born in West Bromwich, Robin Williams attended Wells Cathedral School where he studied oboe with Janet Craxton. He went on to study with Peter Graeme at the Royal Northern College of Music during the early 1980s. While there he was finalist in many prestigious competitions and a major award winner of the Countess of Munster Trust.

After graduating, Robin spent several years abroad, as Concert Soloist with the Heidelberg Kammerorkester, the Wiener Solisten, the Johan Strauss Sinfonietta and Musikkollegium, Zurich, and subsequently as Principal Oboe with the Espoo City Chamber Orchestra and the Espoo Wind Quintet in Finland. Moving to Germany in 1990, he worked with the Niederrheinischen Sinfoniker – the symphony and opera orchestra of Krefeld.

Robin was appointed Principal Oboe with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in 1992. He appears regularly as part of the SCO Wind Ensemble, in chamber music and as a soloist with the SCO, including Kenneth Leighton’s Veris Gratia (with cellist Raphael Wallfisch) and Bach’s Oboe and Violin Concerto with violinist Augustin Dumay. His recordings include Bach’s Oboe and Violin Concerto (directed by violinist Joji Hattori) and Vivaldi’s Oboe Concerto in A minor as part of a mixed disc of Vivaldi concertos conducted by Nicholas McGegan.

Photo © Jeremy Hardie