Michael Cox composer / arranger

Michael Cox is one of Britain’s best known flautists. He is principal flute of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and the London Sinfonietta, professor of flute at the Royal Academy of Music and artistic director of the flute website “Principal Chairs” for whom he has recorded and discussed all main orchestral solos. As a soloist he has appeared many times in the BBC Proms, in the main London halls and, further afield, in all continents.

Having previously held principal flute tenures with the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Mozart Players and the Britten Sinfonia, Michael Cox now relishes the wonderful variety of belonging to symphony, chamber orchestra & avant garde ensembles of international renown in combination with travelling as a soloist and teacher. Recent highlights as a soloist include the posthumous world premiere of a work for alto flute, mezzo soprano and orchestra by John Tavener in the Royal Albert Hall, the UK premiere of a concerto by Finnish composer Lotta Wennakoski, the world premiere of a piccolo concerto written for him by Simon Holt, three tours to Australia and a tour & recordings in the USA of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto 4 & 5 alongside the legendary pianist Murray Perahia.
Michael Cox’s commitment to new music has led him to work directly with UK composers such as Tippett, Maxwell Davies, Birtwistle, Knussen, Benjamin, Ades and Turnage in addition to composers such as Messian, Berio, Boulez, Lutoslawski, Stockhausen, Dutilleux, Takemitsu, Reich and Adams. Equally devoted to his teaching, recent graduates from Michael Cox’s flute class at the Royal Academy of Music have included Adam Walker and Alexandra Jakeman (principal and second flute -London Symphony Orchestra), Joshua Batty and Claire Wickes (principals of the RTE concert orchestra and English National Opera), Amy Yule and Sarah Bennett (the new principal of the Royal Northern Sinfonia and second of the Halle Orchestra respectively).
Michael Cox has recorded (Naxos, Sony, Hyperion, Nimbus) and broadcast widely and is an international artist for Altus Flutes. This year he has toured in Europe, USA, the Middle East, Far East and Australia but he is equally happy at home in the hilltop village near Oxford where he lives.