Oliver Brown is the Gold and Silver Wyre Drawer’s scholar at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he studies oboe with Fraser MacAulay.

Originally from Nottingham, Oliver began learning the oboe with Wendy McDonald aged nine, and soon progressed through Nottingham Youth Orchestra to Principal Oboe, a position he held for five years. He studied with James Turnbull at the Royal College of Music Junior Department as a scholar. Alongside this, Oliver was Principal Oboe at Opera North Youth Orchestra performing in the Leeds Grand Theatre, and rehearsing side-by-side with the orchestra of Opera North. Oliver performed locally as a Guest Young Artist with the Sinfonia Chorale in 2024.

Since starting Guildhall, Oliver has been a finalist in the 2025 Guildhall Double Reed Prize, and been involved in a number of orchestral, opera, chamber and solo performances. A keen cor anglais player, Oliver returned to Nottingham Youth Orchestra to perform the solo in Dvorak’s New World Symphony. 

An RPS Instrument Purchase Grant has helped Oliver to purchase a professional Marigaux cor anglais. He looks forward to taking this specialism further with lessons from Alison Teale next year.