Biography
Andrew Knights
The oboist Andrew Knights was born in India and brought up inSri Lanka and Hong Kong. After studying oboe, cello and conducting at the Royal College of Music in London, he won a scholarship from the French Government to study with Pierre Pierlot in Paris.
A meeting with Hansjorg Schellenberger, principal oboist with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, led to his being invited to apply for the Herbert von Karajan Akademie. He won a scholarship from the Karajan Foundation, spent two years in Berlin, and was frequently invited to play with the famous orchestra under von Karajan at home and abroad.
After winning prizes in Britain and Prague, Andrew was appointed principal oboist with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in 1983. In 1991 he joined the Bournemouth Sinfonietta with whom he appeared as concerto soloist on over a hundred occasions throughout the southwest of England.
After the orchestra was disbanded in 1999 he has diversified greatly as a musician. He plays many concerts with the group ‘Prevailing Winds’. In 2000 he became a Professor at Trinity College in addition to his role as visiting lecturer at Southampton University. Notably he has played to sufferers from Alzheimer's Disease with effects receiving coverage by such programmes as ‘You and Yours’ from Radio 4 and BBC South Today.