He was born on March 5, 1931 in Melbourne, he met the horn at the age of 13 and was playing professionally in six months. He studied at the Sydney Conservatory of Music with Alan Mann, one of Australia's most influential metal performers. Tuckwell has said: "The horn chose me, from the beginning, it was something I knew I could do."
He decided not to play the horn because a local orchestra comedian convinced him, he did it and in two years he was playing in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. At the British Horn Society festival in 2005, he addressed the audience and said: One note at a time, piece of cake The horn is often considered one of the most difficult orchestral instruments to master.
At age 15, he was appointed by Joseph Post as third trumpet with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. A year later, he joined the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under Eugene Goossens, where he stayed for three and a half years before leaving for England. His first appointment in 1951 was with the Hallé Orchestra under the direction of Sir John Barbirolli. After two years, he went to the National Orchestra of Scotland under the direction of Karl Rankl and a year later to the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Charles Groves. In 1955, he was named the first horn of the London Symphony Orchestra.
He is one of the most recorded horn soloists, after having made more than 50 recordings. He has received three Grammy Award nominations.
He formed a wind quintet in 1968, which also made international tours.
For four seasons he was Director of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and in 1982 he founded the Maryland Symphony Orchestra. He enjoyed a long association with the Symphony of the North and was named Guest Conductor after an acclaimed tour of fourteen concerts across North America.
