[1] Daniel won the BBC Young Musician of the Year Competition in 1980 and was awarded the 2011 Queen's Medal for Music.,[2] cited as having made “an outstanding contribution to the musical life of the nation”.
[4] He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to music.
Nicholas Daniel is a founding member of the Haffner Wind Ensemble and Britten Sinfonia, and formed a duo with pianist Julius Drake in 1981.
[6] As Principal Oboe of Britten Sinfonia, Daniel has frequently appeared as a member of the orchestra and also as a soloist/director.
In 2009 Britten Sinfonia released its first own label recording, which features Nicholas Daniel in John Tavener's Songs of the Sky.