John Whitfield (2)

John Whitfield (21 March 1957 – 4 November 2019) was a British musician and conductor from Darlington, England. He was principal bassoon of the National Youth Orchestra Of Great Britain and founded the Endymion Ensemble from a group of NYO students in 1979, which became noted for its performances of modern classical music, particularly by British composers. From 1991 to 2006 he worked with Sir Charles Mackerras. He conducted first performances and commissioned works from, among others, Harrison Birtwistle, Dominic Muldowney, Michael Nyman, Nigel Osborne, Giles Swayne, Judith Weir, and Mark-Anthony Turnage. Whitfield played solo ocarina on A Monkey's Paw and solo recorder under Richard Hickox in Benjamin Britten Noye's Fludde on Virgin Classics. He also edited performing editions of operas for the Royal Opera House and the English National Opera, and four Franz Lehár operettas for publication by Weinberger.