Barnaby Robson

AGSM MSc

Clarinet professor

Barnaby Robson is Principal Clarinet of English National Opera, having previously held the same position with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Christoph von Dohnányi and Esa-Pekka Salonen. He has appeared widely as a guest principal, including with the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and Scottish Chamber Orchestra. On original instruments, he has performed with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Hanover Band, English Concert, and Academy of Ancient Music, both as an orchestral player and as a soloist.

He studied at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and later at The Juilliard School in New York City as a Fulbright Scholar.

An experienced chamber musician, Barnaby has collaborated with Thomas Adès, the Belcea Quartet, London Sinfonietta, Graham Fitkin, London Winds, Soloists of the Philharmonia Orchestra, and the Zanfonia Trio. He has recorded clarinet chamber repertoire extensively, including releases for Orchid Classics, Decca, and EMI, and recently reconstructed and recorded a previously unheard version of the Herbert Howells Clarinet Sonata, which was broadcast on and reviewed by BBC Radio 3. His studio work includes soundtracks for The Theory of Everything, Wicked Little Letters, Mission: Impossible, and the Knives Out trilogy.

A committed educator, Barnaby is Professor of Clarinet at the Royal College of Music. He has also taught at the Royal Northern College of Music, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, and many of his former students now hold positions in leading UK orchestras and ensembles. He is a regular guest examiner and conductor at the Royal Academy of Music, has coached musicians in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and has served as a judge for BBC Young Musician.

Formerly Head of Music Engagement at Queen Mary University of London, he has delivered masterclasses at all major UK conservatoires and internationally in Switzerland, Singapore, Australia, and Iceland.

Barnaby is a Yamaha Artist and holds an MSc in Performance Science with distinction from the Royal College of Music, with a research interest in the psychology of orchestral auditioning.

Faculties / departments: Woodwind