Our People

The team behind Apollo Music Projects and our Apollo Chamber Orchestra.

  • Sir Simon Rattle

    PATRON

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    One of the world’s leading conductors and passionate about music education, Sir Simon Rattle was born in Liverpool and studied at the Royal Academy of Music. He is Chief Conductor of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Conductor Laureate of the London Symphony Orchestra. Sir Simon is also Principal Artist of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and was Principal Conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker from 2002 to 2018. We are thrilled to have Simon as our Patron.

  • Armando Iannucci

    PATRON; PRESIDENT, FRIENDS OF APOLLO MUSIC PROJECTS

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    A satirist, writer, director and producer. Armando’s credits span radio, film and television and include BAFTA award-winning The Thick of It, Oscar-nominated screenplay In The Loop, and the Emmy award-winning Veep. In 2017 he published Hear Me Out, a new book on classical music, and released his critically acclaimed film The Death of Stalin. His adaptation of Charles Dicken’s David Copperfield was released in January 2020, as was his new HBO series, Avenue 5. In December 2023, Armando made his debut as a playwright with ‘Pandemonium’ at London’s Soho Theatre. He presented a BBC Artsnight featuring Apollo Music Projects in 2015.

  • David Chernaik

    CHIEF EXECUTIVE & PROGRAMME DIRECTOR

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    A professional conductor and cellist. David is passionate about music education and giving children of all backgrounds access to the life-enhancing experience of music, both performing and listening. He founded the Apollo Chamber Orchestra in 1989 and since then has given many concerts with the orchestra – including chamber orchestra, string orchestra, symphony and opera performances.

  • Simon Curtis

    CHAIR

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    A chartered accountant and finance director who has worked in the insurance industry for thirty years but whose real passion has always been music. Simon has been a pianist for most of his life, working for a few years as a cruise ship musician during a career break from the city, and is currently a member of the West End Musical Choir.

  • Ian Hoggart

    TREASURER

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    Ian studied at the University of York where, alongside teaching and performing, he completed a PhD in Music. Upon moving to London, he embarked on a career change and qualified as a chartered accountant, working for an accountancy firm with several clients in the creative industries. Ian now works as Financial Controller for a television production company. His passion for music remains, and he continues to embrace any opportunity to perform, both on recorder and bassoon. He is also one of the founding members of the London Incidental Orchestra.

  • Peter Melling

    TRUSTEE

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    Peter is a graduate of Liverpool University and qualified as a solicitor in 1982. As a lawyer, he has worked in both private practice and industry, later developing a career in risk management and, subsequently, corporate investigations. He has played the piano from an early age and now accompanies the London Doctors Choir. He has recently joined the Advanced Chamber Music and Piano Accompaniment course at Morley College, performing regularly with a variety of instrumentalists.

  • Susan Harrison

    CHARITY SECRETARY AND ORCHESTRA MANAGER

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    As a violinist, Susan is one of the core team delivering the project in primary schools. She feels privileged to have worked in the classroom with the children over the past ten years, as it has greatly increased her understanding of music and communication. Susan is part of the AMP administrative team and also has an independent career as a freelance musician. She teaches violin at the City of London School and privately.

  • Julie Foord

    GENERAL ADMINISTRATOR AND SCHOOLS’ COORDINATOR
    (maternity leave)

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    Experienced in arts management, producing and community dance, ​Julie enjoys engaging with people across diverse creative and health settings. In her spare time Julie likes to sing and practise playing the piano.

  • Selina Wagstaff

    FINANCE OFFICER

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    Selina has worked in the not-for-profit sector for 16 years, including working with health and wellbeing charities and in arts administration at Aldeburgh Music. She has a passion for music and was a former member of the BBC Symphony Chorus. Selina has an MBA from Henley Business School and is a Member of the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (MICB).

  • Jenna Lambie Ridgway

    FUNDRAISING OFFICER

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    Originally from North Carolina (USA), Jenna has over 15 years of experience in the charity arts sector with a special focus on development and engagement. She was most recently the Administrative Producer for DV8 Physical Theatre, and she holds an MA in Education in Arts and Cultural Settings from Kings College, London. Jenna enjoys live performance across a range of art forms and whilst not a trained musician, she would love to one day learn to play the banjo.

  • Nina Ford

    SCHOOLS COORDINATOR (maternity cover)

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    Nina has worked in the Education Sector since the early 1990s, including teaching in Islington, Hackney and Waltham Forest, as well as some time working for the Hackney Learning Trust. Recently retired from the chalk face, she is putting her passions for learning, the arts and social change to good use as our Schools’ Coordinator (maternity leave cover).

  • Lydia Stevens

    GENERAL ADMINISTRATOR
    (maternity cover)

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    As an arts manager and performer, Lydia has specific experience working in educational performance companies and arts festivals in Argentina, where she lived for 10 years. Lydia is passionate about the impact that the arts can have on a child’s engagement in learning and about how music can contribute to a greater sense of wellbeing and emotional connectedness. She holds an MA in Cultural Management and Cultural Policy.

  • Claire Greville

    EVENTS AND COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER

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    Claire has worked in the not-for-profit sector for the past eight years, primarily with organisations which support young people and their mental health. Experienced in digital marketing and event management, she has also developed an interest in trauma-informed creative practice. Claire enjoys all musical genres and she has seen first-hand the positive impact that music can have on individual lives.

 

 

The Apollo Chamber Orchestra

The Apollo Chamber Orchestra developed the initial pilot for the Apollo Music Projects schools programme in 1999 and ran the programme until AMP became a charity in 2004. The orchestra continues to provide the musicians for AMP workshops and concerts.

The orchestra was founded by conductor David Chernaik in 1989, and has won awards and accolades for its performances and recordings, including a CD of Mendelssohn’s Scottish and Italian symphonies described by the Penguin Guide to CDs as “second to none”.

 

VIOLIN

Elizabeth Pigram (Leader), Robert Gibbs (Guest Leader), John Smart (Co-Leader), Takane Funatsu, Jeremy Sampson, Lucy Waterhouse, Rowena Kennally, Willemijn Steenbakkers, Rafael Todes, Philippa Barton, Gemma Sharples, Susan Harrison (Principal 2nd Violin), Joanna Lee, Ginny Strawson, Lucia D’Avanzo-Lewis, Helen Robinson

VIOLA

Fay Sweet (Principal), Diana Mathews (Co-Principal), Mike Briggs, Helen Goatly

CELLO

Ben Davies (Principal), Laura Rose (Co-Principal), Celine Barry, Philip Collingham

DOUBLE BASS

Elizabeth Bradley (Principal), Andy Marshall (Principal)

FLUTE

Jane Spiers (Principal), Tim Taylorson (Co-Principal)

OBOE

Juliet Lewis (Principal), Clare Hoskins (Co-Principal)

CLARINET

Neyire Ashworth (Principal), Victoria Medcalf (Co-Principal)

BASSOON

Rachel Edmonds (Principal), Jo Turner (Co-Principal)

HORN

Julian Faultless (Principal), Jo Withers

TRUMPET

Christopher Pigram (Principal), John MacDomnic, Peter Rudeforth

TROMBONE

Danny Scott (Principal), Richard Pywell

BASS TROMBONE

Andrew Lester

TIMPANI

Stephen Gibson

PERCUSSION

Matthew Rich, Chris Terian, David Tosh, Rob Farrar