Skip to main content

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

  • What's on
  • Your Visit
  • About Us
  • Take part
  • Support us
  • My Account
  • Search

Site Menu.

Main Site Sections.

  • What's on
  • Your Visit
  • About Us
  • Take part
  • Support us
  • Digital Programmes

More Site Pages.

  • My Account
Return to main

Loading...

Woodwind

Margaret Cookhorn

Principal Contrabassoon
Margaret Cookhorn stood with contrabassoon. Margaret's contrabassoon is resting on the floor, and Margaret is laughing.

Margaret was born in Birmingham and went to study Bassoon and Contrabassoon at the Royal Northern College of Music. Whilst still being a student, she joined CBSO with Sir Simon Rattle as Music Director. She has played with most of the leading British orchestras and also regularly plays with Birmingham Contemporary Music Group.

She performed two solo pieces for Contrabassoon by Colin Matthews which was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in 2004.

In 2009 she played the world premiere of ‘Falling Down’, a concerto for Contrabassoon and Orchestra in Symphony Hall, conducted by Andris Nelsons and also played the London Premiere at the BBC Proms in July 2015.

In 2018 Margaret had a taste of being a presenter on the the BBC Radio 3 Programme ‘Inside Music’ (Tandem Productions) and was reinvited to present a second programme in 2019. She is also one of BBC Radio 3 ‘New Generation Voices’, in which she has appeared on the programme ‘Essential Classics’. 

In the summer of 2020 she was invited to be guest host on ‘Sunday Night Scala in the Orchestra’ for Scala Radio.

Besides her work as a Contrabassoon tutor and Chamber Music Coach, Margaret has recently completed her involvement as Player Trustee in CBSO and is currently an independent trustee of the Derbyshire based ‘Sinfonia Viva’.

Image gallery

Margaret is playing the bassoon, dressed in a red Christmas outfit and hat.
© 2021 Credit : Andrew Fox

Live in concert

  • Centre Stage: All the Bassoons

  • Centre Stage: Operatic Winds

Photograph of Margaret Cookhorn laughing whilst holding her contrabassoon

Supported by The Grimmitt Trust

Meet more of our players

  • Headshot of bassoonist Nikolaj Henriques

    Nikolaj Henriques

    Section Leader Bassoon
  • Headshot of principal bass clarinettist Mark O'Brien

    Mark O’Brien

    Principal Bass Clarinet
  • Photograph of Joanna Patton holding her clarinet in Birmingham's Gas Street Basin

    Joanna Patton

    Principal Second Clarinet
  • Headshot of clarinetist Oliver Janes.

    Oliver Janes

    Section Leader Clarinet

Further content for Margaret Cookhorn

Keep exploring... Meet the whole Orchestra

Photograph of Kazuki Yamada conducting the orchestra at Symphony Hall

Contact Details

(0121) 616 6500 information@cbso.co.uk

More Site Pages

  • News & Stories
  • Jobs
  • Press
  • Contact
  • Hire

Legal Pages

  • Terms & conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookie policy
  • Site Map
  • Safeguarding Policy
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • X
  • TikTok
  • YouTube

Principal Funders

Supported using public funding by Arts Council EnglandSCC

Small Print

©2025. The CBSO is a registered charity in England (No. 506276).

Address: CBSO Centre, Berkley Street, Birmingham, B1 2LF

Website by Supercool.