Quentin Poole

Quentin H. Poole (born 1957)[1] is an English oboist, conductor and former boy chorister, who served as Head Chorister of King's College, Cambridge.[2]

Poole was born in Surrey, England, the son of Joseph W. Poole and Esme B. Mounsey Poole,[3] but he grew up, as the youngest of five children, at Coventry, where his father was Precentor of Coventry Cathedral.[4] He learned piano from the age of seven and trained under Sir David Willcocks at King's College,[5] where he joined the choir aged nine.[4] He also took up the flute there.[4] He subsequently sang in the choir of The King's School, Canterbury,[4] and was a member of the National Youth Orchestra.[5]

He studied at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge and then at the Royal Academy of Music under Janet Craxton.[5]

Poole was a founder, member and oboist of the Endymion Ensemble and later its conductor.[5] He was also principal oboe for the City of London Sinfonia and other orchestras and chamber groups.[5] He was Director of Music of the Purcell School from 2001,[5] from which he was made redundant in 2013.[6] He was made a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in 2004.[5]

He appeared as a castaway on the BBC Radio programme Desert Island Discs on 26 December 1970.[4] He was 13 at the time; the programme's youngest guest.[4] His picture was published in a contemporary issue of the Radio Times.[4]