Celia Nicklin joined the London Mozart Players on the day Kennedy was assassinated
Where else do you teach/play?
Royal Academy of Music, National Youth Orchestra, Cambridge University, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, other orchestras etc.
Where were you born?
Malmesbury - so I'm a moonraker.
How old were you when you started playing, and why did you take up the oboe?
14 – after hearing Leon Goossens play.
What has been your most fun/interesting musical experience so far?
Probably playing in the National Youth Orchestra aged 16 but otherwise too many to list. The most inspiring part of my life is helping students to 'play better' and then watch them become oboists of calibre.
Who have you enjoyed working with the most and why?
My very first oboe teacher, as she was the most inspiring person ever – every day I wish that I could be as inspiring as she was to us all. Twenty-eight oboe students in one girls' school says it all.
Do you play any other instruments?
Piano.
Do you have any hobbies you manage to fit into your spare time?
Family – my husband (we met in the National Youth Orchestra) three daughters and many a grandchild, actually seven of them in all. They, coupled with building a house in Dorset, leave no time for other delights.
Where is your favourite holiday destination?
Thailand.
What's your favourite sound?
The purity of boys' voices and blackbirds.
What would you be if you were not a musician?
If I were not an oboist I would probably do something to do with linguistics, development of language, regional dialect, vanishing languages etc.
