Tributes paid to 'extraordinary musician' John Wallace

Tributes have been paid to "extraordinary musician" Prof John Wallace who has died at the age of 76.

Wallace, from Fife, was a trumpet soloist at the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana in 1981, playing in front of a global TV audience of 750 million.

In 2002 he became principal of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland - formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama - which described him as a "legend in the music world". He remained there until his retirement in 2014.

Wallace was made a CBE in 2011 and awarded a Queen's Medal for Music in 2021 for being an "outstanding individual casting a major positive influence on the musical life of the nation".

After his retirement Wallace became convenor of the Music Education Partnership Group which pushed for free instrumental tuition across the country.

And he continued to play in the Wallace Collection ensemble, which he founded in 1986.

The Wallace Collection described him as "an extraordinary musician, educator, scholar and friend".

"He will be so deeply missed by all who knew and worked with him, and most especially by the music and brass community around the world," it said.

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) said its community was "deeply saddened" by his death.

"John was a positive force in life as well as in music and we extend our heartfelt sympathies to his wife Liz, their children and all those who loved him and were inspired by him."

Paying personal tribute, Prof Jeffrey Sharkey, who succeeded Wallace as principal at the conservatoire, said: "John Wallace was a legend in the music world – one of Scotland's own who gave so much to the world as a performer, educator and leader. He was also incredibly warm and approachable.

"John was grounded in the brass music of his childhood – those Fife bands formed him and shaped his love for the ensemble.

"He kept those roots even when leading the brass sections of some of the world's top orchestras and the whole of RCS, taking us into the 21st Century. He will be much missed, and his legacy will be felt by so many."

The Royal Philharmonic Society said Wallace was a "brilliant musical polymath who did so much for music education, brass music, and music in Scotland".

"A great light has gone out," it said.

The Scottish Music Centre, which Wallace chaired from 2002-09, said he was a "much-loved musician, composer, leader, advocate and visionary educator".

Fife Music Service said: "Sad news regarding John Wallace, a leader in music education in Scotland and an internationally renowned musician. He was fiercely proud of his Fife roots, a great supporter of our service and will be greatly missed."

Wallace was patron of the Scottish Brass Band Association where, in 2025, his musical life was recognised with its Outstanding Achievement Award.

He was also presented with Honorary Membership of the Royal Philharmonic Society last year as he was performing with The Wallace Collection.

Wallace was born in 1949 into a brass band family in Fife.

In 1965 he toured Europe with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and went on to become principal trumpet with the Philharmonia Orchestra after periods with the Royal Philharmonic and London Symphony Orchestras as assistant principal.

He recorded all of the major trumpet solo works and premiered new concertos by Malcolm Arnold, Maxwell Davies, Macmillan, Muldowney, Souster, Schuller and Saxton among others.

In addition to sharing the co-artistic directorship of The Wallace Collection with Anthony George, he was a member of the Scottish Funding Council for Further and Higher Education.

He was the emeritus professor in brass at RCS, 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, the Royal Irish Academy of Music and in 2003 was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE).

Wallace also convened the Music Education Partnership Group (MEPG) which now leads We Make Music Scotland, working tirelessly to secure free instrumental tuition in Scottish state schools.

And he served as chairman for Glasgow Barons - an innovative orchestra based in Govan - and president of St Mary's Music School in Edinburgh.

Wallace was also a prolific composer, with recent works including a song-cycle, The Centre of Things, as well as an hour-long Symphony for Brass Band and a one-act Opera, Opsnizing Dad, featuring opera singer Jamie MacDougall.

He also co-edited the Companion to Brass Instruments and History of The Trumpet, and most recently The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Brass Instruments.