Key people

Tony was appointed Chair in 2018. He is currently a Trustee of British Forces Broadcasting and the Royal Museums Greenwich Foundation. Tony previously Chaired the Greenwich Foundation, NAAFI, Canal and River Trust/ British Waterways, and Workspace PLC. He has served on several Boards including HSBC Bank, Aston Villa and Welsh National Opera and was Chief Executive of Allied Domecq. Tony is learning the saxophone. 

The 14th Principal of the Royal Academy of Music, Jonathan has released 13 albums as a trumpet soloist and produced over 250 commercial recordings for international artists and labels. He remains active as a scholar, lecturer, critic and contributor to journals and books, mainly as an established authority on Bach interpretation. 

A former senior partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Abdul is a Trustee of the University of London, and on the Governing Body of The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. He is a former Chairman of the Aga Khan Foundation UK, a former Trustee of the Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts and a former member of the Governing Body of SOAS.

Georgina is an Audit Partner at Deloitte, working with clients from large public companies to privately owned trusts and charities. She is a Governor at the Royal Northern College of Music and Chair of their Audit Committee, and a Trustee of the National Youth Choir.

Having originally studied Microbiology at Imperial College prior to moving into Accountancy, she has had a lifelong amateur interest in music, particularly choral.

Principal of the Royal Northern College of Music, Linda has an international profile as a clarinet soloist and chamber musician. Specialising in contemporary repertoire, she has released over 40 commercial recordings of works she has commissioned, including new clarinet concertos and quintets by leading British composers and works for clarinet and electronics. Linda is regularly invited to teach and lead masterclasses worldwide and has published and presented her research on collaboration between performers and composers and contemporary performance practice at universities and conservatoires worldwide. 

Appointed a trustee in 2019, Frances is a lawyer specialising in intellectual property, technology and the creative industries. She has extensive charity governance experience, taking non-executive roles over many years in various arts and cultural organisations. She has undertaken several governance reviews. She is a Fellow of the RSA. Frances is learning the piano. 

Chief Financial Officer at Derwent London plc since January 2010, Damian is a chartered accountant, holds an engineering degree from Imperial College London, and is a member of the Governing Body of the Royal Academy of Music. He previously held senior finance positions at a number of property companies including Chelsfield plc and Stanhope Properties plc.   

Principal of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland since 2014, Jeffrey is Vice President of the Association of European Conservatoires, Chair of CUK Juniors Forum and Governor at Wells Cathedral School. Jeffrey was made a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2022 and Royal Society of Arts in 2023. A pianist and composer, he was also a founding member of the Pirasti Piano Trio. 

Non-Executive Director of International Personal Finance PLC and a Trustee of The SETI Institute, a US-based non-profit scientific research institute and significant contractor to NASA. Bronwyn was previously the Executive President and a Board Member of QuinStreet Inc., having been its COO. Bronwyn also served on the management committee of De La Rue and before that was a consultant with McKinsey & Company, Inc

Appointed a trustee in 2020, Veronica was Editor of the Evening Standard (2002-2009), Chair of Arts Council London (2010-2018), Senior Advisor to the Mayor of London Boris Johnson (2012-2016) and now chairs the Advisory Panel and Monitoring Board for the National Plan for Music Education and the London Music Fund, which she co-founded. Veronica received a CBE in the 2018 and was appointed to the House of Lords in July 2020. 

Gavin Reid is Chief Executive of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

He studied trumpet at the Royal Northern College of Music and Guildhall School of Music and Drama, before pursuing a wide-ranging freelance career.

He has been Director of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and General Manager of Manchester Camerata, whilst non-executive roles have included the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Association of British Orchestras (Chair) and International Music and Performing Arts Charitable Trust.

2024

James has been Director of the Royal College of Music since September 2024. Prior to this, James spent eight years as Managing Director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) during which time he appointed Vasily Petrenko as Music Director, secured Associate Orchestra status for the RPO at the Royal Albert Hall and developed the RPO’s international profile that included major tours to the USA, Europe and Asia.

In May 2023, James was invited by His Majesty King Charles III to oversee the music for the Coronation Service of Their Majesties The King and Queen held at Westminster Abbey. James has also worked for the Philharmonia Orchestra building long-standing partnerships with artists such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Lorin Maazel, Lang Lang and Vladimir Ashkenazy.

Music education and developing the careers of young musicians has always played a central role in James’ career which has included positions at the Royal Northern College of Music, Yehudi Menuhin's Live Music Now scheme and as a Trustee of the Mayfield Valley Arts Trust.