His father Samuel – the village carpenter and an amateur cellist[1] – and his wife Hannah (née Rodber) had a large family.
Charles showed such aptitude for the clarinet that Paul sent him to London in 1888 to have private lessons from a leading player, Henry Lazarus.
[2] Impressed by what he described as Draper's "fine tone and very great facility",[2] Lazarus recommended him to Sir George Grove, director of the Royal College of Music (RCM).
[2] Grove was succeeded as director of the RCM in January 1895 by Hubert Parry,[4] who in July that year helped Draper to gain his first professional appointment, with the Crystal Palace orchestra under August Manns.
[2] Draper was a member of Queen Victoria’s private band during the last years of her reign (1899–1901),[2] and was later Musician in Ordinary to Edward VII.
[6] In 1905, together with the flautist Eli Hudson, Draper founded the New Symphony Orchestra, a cooperative, self-governing ensemble of 46 players.