Trustees are professional musicians or are involved in music education or the commercial music industry.

Richard Stilgoe OBE, Chairman

Richard is well known as a singer/songwriter, lyricist and broadcaster. In 1985 he founded and continues to run the Orpheus Trust which devises and runs music programmes designed to help people with physical disabilities. He played an instrumental role in enabling the Trust to open a purpose built centre, part-funded by lottery funds and opened in 1998 to enhance and develop further the Trust's work. He also presents the Stilgoe Saturday Concerts at the Royal Festival Hall. He was High Sheriff of Surrey in 1998-99.

The board meets four times a year and is responsible for corporate policy as well as approving funding applications. They are advocates and ambassadors for the work of Youth Music and take a keen interest in seeing the work of Youth Music at first hand.

George Caird

George has been involved in many areas of music education: teaching, devising educational programmes, coaching chamber ensembles, conducting and coaching youth orchestras and as a founding member of the British Double Reed Society. He was appointed as a professor of oboe at the Royal Academy of Music in 1984 where he became Head of Woodwind in 1987 and Head of Orchestral Studies in 1991. Since September 1993, George has been Principal of Birmingham Conservatoire within the University of Central England. George is a director of Symphony Hall, a member of the Regional Council for West Midlands Arts, member of the Board for West Midlands Life and Chair of the Music Education Council.

David Carrington

David is an independent consultant working with charities, companies and the government on the funding and governance of charities and social enterprises and on the promotion of personal philanthropy. His clients have included the UK Treasury, the first Venture Philanthropy ‘pooled’ fund in the UK, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, the European Foundation Centre and many endowed and corporate foundations. He has a governance training joint venture (‘On Board’) with the UK’s leading charity law firm. David also works as a ‘mentor/adviser’ for senior staff of several charities. He has been Chief Executive of three foundations including The Baring Foundation (1992-8). Previously he was Housing Services Manager of the Stonham Housing Association and worked at NACRO (the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders).  He is also the Chair of Allavida and of engage (the association of people working in gallery education), a founder Director of the Trust that publishes the journal Alliance, and a Trustee of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. He is also a member of the Social Investment Task Force and the Commission on Unclaimed Assets. He chairs the editorial group of the Philanthropy UK e-newsletter.

Kathleen Duncan

Kathleen Duncan was Director General of the Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales (formerly the TSB Foundation for England and Wales) from 1990 – 2005.  During this time the Foundation made grants totalling £140million to over 30000 charitable organisations. Previous roles include working in Hong Kong for seven years, setting up the independent copyright society (CASH) and running a travel business; followed by appointments as International Marketing Director for Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd and Marketing Director/Centenary Appeal Director for St John Ambulance.   From 1995 to 2000 she was Vice Chair of Crime Concern and a member of the Executive Board of the Association of Charitable Foundations from 1994 until 2000 including Vice Chair 1999-2000. Kathleen has been a Trustee of the National Family and Parenting Institute since 1999 and chairs the DfES Parenting Fund Advisory Panel. Other trusteeships include Changing Faces, Hosking Houses Trust, New Philanthropy Capital and the British Institute for Human Rights.  She is also a Governor of Christ’s Hospital School and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Musician.

Howard Goodall

Howard Goodall is one of Britain's leading composers. Almost everyone knows his popular TV themes for Blackadder, Mr Bean, Red Dwarf or The Vicar of Dibley, and in the theatre his musicals The Hired Man, Days of Hope, The Dreaming and The Kissing-Dance have won awards and acclaim throughout the world. He is a prodigious writer of choral music, including 'I believe in the sun' and 'In Memoriam Anne Frank' for the 2001 National Holocaust Memorial Concert; his settings of Psalm 23 and 'Love Divine' are among his best-loved works. He is also the writer and presenter of BAFTA award-winning music documentaries for television, from 'Howard Goodall's Organ Works' to 'Howard Goodall's Big Bangs', and most recently ‘Howard Goodall’s 20th Century Greats’ and 'Musical Nation'.

Tolga Kashif

London born Tolga Kashif is regarded as one of the most diversely talented musicians of his generation, with success ranging from a critically-acclaimed CD of Richard Strauss tone poems to the musical direction of the BBC Children in Need's Platinum-selling single, 'Perfect Day'.  He studied conducting and composition at the Royal College of Music, then later at Bristol University with Derek Bourgeois. His professional début was with the London Philharmonic, after which he has been a frequent guest in this country with the Royal Philharmonic, City of London Sinfonia, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Northern Sinfonia. In 1992, he was appointed Associate Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra and combining the roles of Composer, Conductor and Producer, he has worked with the BBC Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony, English Chamber and National Symphony. Among notable successes are the soundtrack for the award-winning animation 'First Snow of Winter', 'Where the Heart Is' for ITV and documentaries such as 'QED' and the BBC's 'Gulf War'. He has also written and performed many prominent advertising campaigns including 1997's 'Perfect Day' single with featured artists such as Elton John, David Bowie, Bono, Lesley Garrett, Sir Andrew Davis, the Brodsky Quartet and Courtney Pine.

March 2002 saw the world premiere of a new song written by him commissioned by Youth Music. 'Drop in the Ocean' was performed at the Royal Festival Hall and received a further performance at the Commonwealth Day Observance at Westminster Abbey in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Further performances number over 500, with the total number of performers in the thousands.

Menna McGregor

Menna is Company Secretary at the Mercers Company. Qualified as a barrister, she has worked in business and the arts, and has wide experience of legal and governance issues affecting large charities. She has a long held interest in voluntary youth work and in music. She lives in London and Wales.

Sally Osman

Sally is a consultant specialising in integrated marketing and communications, corporate reputation and brand storytelling. She is the former Head of Communications for the BBC, helped launch Channel 5 and previously ran BSkyB’s press and PR team. She is an award-winning magazine editor and former journalist with the Daily Mail and Western Mail in Cardiff.  She led strategic communications for the last BBC Charter and Licence Fee settlement as well as for recent efficiencies, numerous crises and consumer publicity campaigns. She also initiated the process for shaping the BBC’s story over the next five years.  Music has been a constant source of inspiration, comfort and energy in her life and she hopes, through Youth Music, to help kids who might otherwise not get the chance to discover how it can make their lives better too.

Reports by former Youth Music Chairman, Gavin Henderson - retired June 2007

Gavin is the Artistic Director of the Dartington International Summer School and Chair of Arts Council of England Music Advisory Panel. He has wide experience of working with the arts and is Chairman of a number of arts associations. Gavin has also held positions as Principal of Trinity Laben, Director of the Brighton Festival, the South Hill Park Arts Centre at Bracknell, as well as Chief Executive of the Philharmonia Orchestra.

Download Gavin Henderson Chairman's Review 2006 (167KB Word)

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