Trustees of Schola Cantorum
|
The choir's work is overseen by a board of Trustees, many of whom are former members of the choir. Chaired by Dame Hilary Boulding, they meet twice every term to discuss the choir's plans and secure its future.
|
"It is a great privilege to be associated with Schola Cantorum. It has a wonderful history of outstanding performances of choral works of all types. Under the inspirational direction of James Burton, it has been inspiring to watch and listen to the gifted and dedicated singers perform with such enthusiasm and skill." |
|
Dame Hilary Boulding DBE, President of Trinity College (Chair)Hilary’s career combines 20 years as a music and arts programme maker in BBC Television and Radio with extensive senior management experience across the arts, cultural and educational sectors in the UK. She was awarded a DBE for services to culture and education in Wales in 2017.
In 2017 she was appointed to Trinity College, Oxford as the College’s first female President in its 450-year history. Prior to that she was the Principal of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (2007-2017) which trains 700 exceptionally talented young artists in Music, Acting, Stage Management and Theatre Design. She served as the Director of Music Strategy for Arts Council England between 1999 and 2007. |
|
Ms Abigail Ellison (Secretary to the Trustees)Abigail Ellison sang with Schola Cantorum from 2011-2014 and was the choir's student chairman in 2013-2014 whilst reading Music at St Anne's College. Since graduating she has worked for the Royal Opera House, initially as assistant to the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme and more recently as Opera Company Secretary, supporting the work of the Director of Casting and Head of Music. In her free time she continues to sing with The Cantus Ensemble and is also a founder member of London-based vocal ensemble Omnia Voices.
|
|
Mr Jim Mirabal (Hon. Treasurer)Our non-singing Treasurer is Jim Mirabal. In his time he has held roles in various bodies including Kew Gardens, The Royal Academy of Music, and Lincoln College.
|
|
Dr Archie Bott‘Dr Archie Bott sang with Schola from 2015-2017 while he was completing a DPhil in Atomic and Laser Physics at Merton College. Having completed his DPhil in 2019, Archie moved to the USA to work as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University, before returning to Oxford in September 2022 to start a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship in the Department of Physics and a Junior Research Fellowship in Physics at Trinity College. Archie’s current work is focused on the study of astrophysical and laser-produced plasmas. As well as singing for Schola, Archie is also a former member of the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, and has more recently been singing with Laurelin Voices.
|
|
Mr Nicholas CleoburyNicholas Cleobury was the conductor of Schola Cantorym 1974 - 1977 and has also previously served as a Trustee. He is one of Britain’s most experienced and respected conductors. An orchestral and operatic interpreter of flair and imagination, he is also an expert choral conductor, has a passionate commitment to contemporary music and is a brilliant communicator as teacher and lecturer.
|
|
Dr Mike GearyDr Michael Geary is Assistant Treasurer and a former member of the choir. Following a degree in mathematics and a doctorate in theoretical physics he pursued a career in scientific computing: first at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and then with the Numerical Algorithms Group. He continues to sing in a number of choirs, including Oxford Pro Musica Singers, Fiori Musicali and Sospiri.
|
|
Professor Cameron HepburnProfessor Cameron Hepburn is an alumni of Schola and currently a Professor of Environmental Economics at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, a Fellow at New College, Oxford, and the Director of the Economics of Sustainability Programme, based at the Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School. His work has been referred to in publications such as the Economist and the Financial Times, and he has been interviewed on television and radio in various countries. He provides advice on energy and climate policy to government ministers (e.g. China, India, UK and Australia) and international institutions (e.g. OECD, UN organisations) around the world. Cameron began his professional life with McKinsey, and has since had an entrepreneurial career, co-founding three successful businesses – Aurora Energy Research, Climate Bridge and Vivid Economics – and investing in several other social enterprises, such as Purpose and Apolitical.
|
|
Dr Felix LeachFelix is an Engineer, who is a Research Fellow at Keble College and the Engineering Dept Science in Oxford. He is also active as a singer and arts administrator, having been involved in managing the Choir of Queen's College, Oxford, the viol consort Phantasm, and courses for the National Youth Choir's of Great Britain. Felix sang in Schola 2007-10 and has been involved in its governance since 2010.
|
Mr Nigel PressNigel Press's passion for choral music started as a boy chorister, then as a cathedral lay-clerk whilst he was a research student and then singing in London-based chamber choirs. He studied geology and commercialised his research into a satellite mapping company developing new methods in exploration - the precursor to high-tech start-ups of today. He is now chairman of a charity that he helped to found which uses the sort of technology he spent his career developing to help assist the UN’s relief efforts in humanitarian disasters. He is a trustee of several organisations in the realms of sport, technology and music.
|
|
Mr Richard SavageRichard Savage read Natural Sciences at Keble and was then a Lay Clerk at Christ Church. Whilst an undergraduate he was chairman of Schola, organising a number of concerts and foreign tours. Since graduating, he has combined a career as a professional singer with being Chairman of a Company that provides services to the musical industry worldwide.
|
|
Ms Annabel WilliamsAnnabel was a soprano in Schola from 2018-2020 while reading for a Classics degree at Lady Margaret Hall. She was choir chair in 2019-2020. After graduating from Oxford, Annabel started a career in political and financial communications, but recently changed path to become a teacher of Classics at South Hampstead High School in North West London. In her free time she sings with the Holst Singers and with the choirs of St Giles’ Church, Oxford.
|
A list of former Trustees can be found here