Conductor, Sir Adrian Boult After taking his degree at Oxford, Sir Adrian Boult went to Leipzig and joined the conducting class of Arthur Nikisch. In 1916 he made his debut in London conducting the L.S.O. at Queen's HalL His first notable exploit, however, was in 1919 when he conducted the Diaghilev Russian Ballet at the Alhambra at short notice. Later he became conductor of the City of Birmingham Orchestra and in 1930 joined the BBC as Director of Music. Since that time he has many outstanding achievements to his credit, notably the creating of the BBC Symphony Orchestra into one of the finest orchestras in the world.