Professor John Wallace CBE receives Her Majesty’s Medal for Music

The Queen has presented Her Majesty’s Medal for Music for 2021 to Professor John Wallace CBE, patron of the Scottish Brass Band Association.

An internationally renowned Scottish trumpet soloist, composer and educator, John started playing the trumpet when he was seven years old, and at 16, toured Europe with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. His professional career spans over five decades, playing with the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic and the London Symphony Orchestra.

He has dedicated much of his career to the promotion of arts education, serving as Head of the Brass Faculty at the Royal Academy of Music in London, before becoming Principal of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama).

He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal College of Music, the Trinity Laban Conservatoire, the Leeds Conservatoire, the Royal Northern College of Music, and the Royal Irish Academy of Music.   

As well as his career as soloist, John is the founder of the Wallace Collection, a brass ensemble currently based in St Andrews. The Wallace Collection has toured all over the world and is now based in Scotland as a partner of the St Andrews Music Participation (StAMP) Project, which has given 150 youngsters across Fife the opportunity to start learning a brass instrument since the start of the pandemic.

He also convenes the Music Education Partnership Group, which worked to secure free instrumental tuition in Scottish state schools.

The Queen’s Medal for Music was established in 2005 at the suggestion of former Master of The Queen's Music, the late Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. The medal is awarded annually to an outstanding individual or group of musicians who have had a major influence on the musical life of the nation.

John remarked: “I am honoured and humbled to accept this award.  I work with many teams of inspiring musicians across every genre of music and aspect of music education in Scotland. I just light the touchpaper and stand back. This award is recognition of the indomitable spirit of those musicians.”

SBBA and all brass musicians in Scotland add their congratulations to John on this award.