Musician of the Month

Sir James Galway (OBE)

Sir James Galway,  is an Irish virtuoso flute player from Belfast, nicknamed "The Man with the Golden Flute".

Galway was born in Belfast in December 1939. His father also played the flute and his mother played the piano. He was taught the flute by his uncle when he was nine. Just two years later, he won the junior, senior, and open Belfast flute Championships in a single day.

When he was older he moved to London to study the flute at the Royal College of Music and then at the Guildhall School of Music. After that, he moved to Paris and continued his studies there.

Galway has played in many famous orchestras as well as pursuing a solo career. He was one of the musicians who recorded the soundtracks to Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

He was made an Office of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1977, and was knighted in 2001, the first wind player ever to receive that honour.

Listen to him playing Lord of the Rings here.