Nigel Black was a member of the National Youth Orchestra and the European Union Youth Orchestra. He studied at the RCM with Douglas Moore; upon leaving the RCM he became Principal Horn of Opera Orchestra of La Scala, Milan, under Claudio Abbado where he stayed for three years.
He has since been a member of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He has been Principal Horn of the Philharmonia Orchestra since 1993. In 1997 he led his section in a recording of Schumann's Konzertstück for Deutsche Grammophon