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Rick Eling
Chair of Trustees
Rick attended the Hulme Grammar School in Oldham before reading English Literature at the University of Liverpool. On graduation he joined the Royal Navy as an officer and served for six years on a variety of surface warships and shore bases, including six months in the Falkland Islands where he hosted live radio shows on the forces radio station, BFBS Radio 1. He left the navy to begin a second career in financial services and has since held senior management positions in a number of wealth management groups. Rick is married to Heather, with whom he shares a love of motorcycles, cooking, Italy and all forms of the arts.
Rick attended the Hulme Grammar School in Oldham before reading English Literature at the University of Liverpool. On graduation he joined the Royal Navy as an officer and served for six years on a variety of surface warships and shore bases, including six months in the Falkland Islands where he hosted live radio shows on the forces radio station, BFBS Radio 1. He left the navy to begin a second career in financial services and has since held senior management positions in a number of wealth management groups. Rick is married to Heather, with whom he shares a love of motorcycles, cooking, Italy and all forms of the arts.
Marian Sudbury
Vice Chair of Trustees
Marian Sudbury is currently Chair of Trustees for the Bridgewater Hall and a member of the Alliance Manchester Business School Advisory Board. She has had two careers over the last 40 years, as a business founder and owner in the marketing/research space and as a Director/Senior Civil Servant in the Department for Business and Trade. Both involved a strong communications and advocacy element, and she received an OBE in 2020 for work promoting the economic development of the north.
A multicultural Manchester and UK with all our cultures celebrated, is something in which Marian believes strongly. As well as loving the English language and being an avid reader and member of a book club, she speaks Turkish and German and am learning Tamil. Marian has hosted refugees in her home. She is acutely aware of the mental health issues that hold many of our people back, and is a trained Mental Health First Aider. She has mentored people who are homeless due to mental health issues. She believes in the power of music to help people with their mental health.
Marian has personally benefited from the power of music – she started music lessons when she was 8 and played in the Hampshire Youth Orchestra. She has been playing fiddle in a folk band for the last 25 years and has found her band to be a source of strength.
Marian Sudbury is currently Chair of Trustees for the Bridgewater Hall and a member of the Alliance Manchester Business School Advisory Board. She has had two careers over the last 40 years, as a business founder and owner in the marketing/research space and as a Director/Senior Civil Servant in the Department for Business and Trade. Both involved a strong communications and advocacy element, and she received an OBE in 2020 for work promoting the economic development of the north.
A multicultural Manchester and UK with all our cultures celebrated, is something in which Marian believes strongly. As well as loving the English language and being an avid reader and member of a book club, she speaks Turkish and German and am learning Tamil. Marian has hosted refugees in her home. She is acutely aware of the mental health issues that hold many of our people back, and is a trained Mental Health First Aider. She has mentored people who are homeless due to mental health issues. She believes in the power of music to help people with their mental health.
Marian has personally benefited from the power of music – she started music lessons when she was 8 and played in the Hampshire Youth Orchestra. She has been playing fiddle in a folk band for the last 25 years and has found her band to be a source of strength.
Helen Krizos
Trustee
Helen Krizos is currently a Piano Tutor in the School of Keyboard Studies at the Royal Northern College of Music.
As a performer she formed a piano duo with Peter Noke which rapidly established itself as one of the country’s foremost ensembles, broadcasting frequently on BBC Radio 3 and making a number of CD’s for Hyperion. Such was the success of their recording of the Dvorak Slavonic Dances that they were invited to play in the famous Dvorak Hall in Prague. They appeared as soloists with many of the leading orchestras, including the English Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia, Bournemouth Sinfonietta and the BBC Philharmonic. They toured abroad a number of times during which Helen conducted master classes and workshops at major universities and conservatoires.
In Britain Helen’s reputation as a teacher has ensured a steady and growing stream of talented pupils at all levels. A number of her students have gained prizes in both national and international competitions. Helen’s varied and extensive teaching career includes establishing the ‘Music for Kids’ programme for children aged 3-8 and appearing on Granada’s ‘Celebration’ programme as a piano duo coach.
Helen enjoys adjudicating and as a mentor for the Associated Board’s Professional Development Course was the major contributor as setting up the subject-specific course for piano. She currently leads the pedagogy course for undergraduate keyboard students at the RNCM.
Helen Krizos is currently a Piano Tutor in the School of Keyboard Studies at the Royal Northern College of Music.
As a performer she formed a piano duo with Peter Noke which rapidly established itself as one of the country’s foremost ensembles, broadcasting frequently on BBC Radio 3 and making a number of CD’s for Hyperion. Such was the success of their recording of the Dvorak Slavonic Dances that they were invited to play in the famous Dvorak Hall in Prague. They appeared as soloists with many of the leading orchestras, including the English Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia, Bournemouth Sinfonietta and the BBC Philharmonic. They toured abroad a number of times during which Helen conducted master classes and workshops at major universities and conservatoires.
In Britain Helen’s reputation as a teacher has ensured a steady and growing stream of talented pupils at all levels. A number of her students have gained prizes in both national and international competitions. Helen’s varied and extensive teaching career includes establishing the ‘Music for Kids’ programme for children aged 3-8 and appearing on Granada’s ‘Celebration’ programme as a piano duo coach.
Helen enjoys adjudicating and as a mentor for the Associated Board’s Professional Development Course was the major contributor as setting up the subject-specific course for piano. She currently leads the pedagogy course for undergraduate keyboard students at the RNCM.
Paulette Bayley
Trustee
Paulette Bayley's violin studies started as a Suzuki pupil, continued at the
Purcell School as a government aided scholar, the Junior Department of
Guildhall School of Music& Drama and the Royal Northern College of
Music.
Her professional life began as a member of Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
Orchestra before joining Hallé in 2004. She has also worked with the
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic and Scottish
Orchestras and National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland.
Paulette has tutored for National Youth Orchestra, Orchestras For All, the
Hallé’s Youth Orchestra, and supports young string players who, as part
of the Hallé Advanced Orchestral String Programme perform in projects alongside the orchestra. In 2021 she was invited to adjudicate RNCM’s
Norman George Scholarship and regularly coaches the college’s violin sections for orchestral projects. Paulette is also a violin tutor at Chetham‘s School of Music.
Paulette is committed to investing in people from our global community
and is passionate about inclusivity and belonging for all underrepresented groups within the sector. In November ‘23 she joined a panel for Black Lives in Music (BLiM) Recruiting Classical initiative and
has mentored for BLiM and Vengerov‘s Mentoring
Program. Paulette joined Tonic’s Changemakers’ Programme which
launched in 2024 allowing her to explore Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and
Belonging and how we exercise the positive action needed for inclusion of global majority musicians within orchestras. Since June
‘24 Paulette has been leading the Hallé’s review of its policy for recruitment of players with a particular focus on inclusivity and
accessibility.
Paulette Bayley's violin studies started as a Suzuki pupil, continued at the
Purcell School as a government aided scholar, the Junior Department of
Guildhall School of Music& Drama and the Royal Northern College of
Music.
Her professional life began as a member of Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
Orchestra before joining Hallé in 2004. She has also worked with the
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic and Scottish
Orchestras and National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland.
Paulette has tutored for National Youth Orchestra, Orchestras For All, the
Hallé’s Youth Orchestra, and supports young string players who, as part
of the Hallé Advanced Orchestral String Programme perform in projects alongside the orchestra. In 2021 she was invited to adjudicate RNCM’s
Norman George Scholarship and regularly coaches the college’s violin sections for orchestral projects. Paulette is also a violin tutor at Chetham‘s School of Music.
Paulette is committed to investing in people from our global community
and is passionate about inclusivity and belonging for all underrepresented groups within the sector. In November ‘23 she joined a panel for Black Lives in Music (BLiM) Recruiting Classical initiative and
has mentored for BLiM and Vengerov‘s Mentoring
Program. Paulette joined Tonic’s Changemakers’ Programme which
launched in 2024 allowing her to explore Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and
Belonging and how we exercise the positive action needed for inclusion of global majority musicians within orchestras. Since June
‘24 Paulette has been leading the Hallé’s review of its policy for recruitment of players with a particular focus on inclusivity and
accessibility.
Keisha Thompson
Trustee
Keisha Thompson is a Manchester based writer, performance artist and producer, and the Artistic Director and CEO of Contact theatre, Manchester.
As a performer, Keisha has supported artists such as Kae Tempest, Hollie McNish, The Last Poets, Saul Williams, Amiri Baraka and has performed in Brave New Voices festivals 2008 & 2009. Her work has been presented at venues high profile venues and platforms such as Tate Modern, Blue Dot Festival and the British Council Showcase in Edinburgh. Keisha is also the Chair of radical arts funding body, Future’s Venture Foundation, an ITC board member and recipient of The Arts Foundation Theatre Makers Award 2021.
Recent works include children’s show, Issy, BOSSS & Fractal (Fuel Theatre); The Bell Curves (Eclipse, York Theatre Royal and Pilot), an all-female show that clashes science and culture by looking at the medical ethics linked to CRISPR-Cas9 technology; and 14% (Talawa Firsts), an immersive theatre piece looking DNA tests and structural racism particularly within the context British football culture.
Keisha Thompson is a Manchester based writer, performance artist and producer, and the Artistic Director and CEO of Contact theatre, Manchester.
As a performer, Keisha has supported artists such as Kae Tempest, Hollie McNish, The Last Poets, Saul Williams, Amiri Baraka and has performed in Brave New Voices festivals 2008 & 2009. Her work has been presented at venues high profile venues and platforms such as Tate Modern, Blue Dot Festival and the British Council Showcase in Edinburgh. Keisha is also the Chair of radical arts funding body, Future’s Venture Foundation, an ITC board member and recipient of The Arts Foundation Theatre Makers Award 2021.
Recent works include children’s show, Issy, BOSSS & Fractal (Fuel Theatre); The Bell Curves (Eclipse, York Theatre Royal and Pilot), an all-female show that clashes science and culture by looking at the medical ethics linked to CRISPR-Cas9 technology; and 14% (Talawa Firsts), an immersive theatre piece looking DNA tests and structural racism particularly within the context British football culture.
Helen Palmer
Trustee
Helen’s background was originally in theatre marketing and PR, before
becoming a marketing consultant in 1999 and setting up Palmer Squared consultancy in 2015. She was the Press & Comms Lead for Walk the
Plank’s major 2022 outdoor arts commission Green Space Dark Skies.
She was part of the founding management teams of Manchester
International Festival, Cultureshock (Commonwealth Games North West
Cultural Programme, Manchester 2002), British Ceramics Biennial, Asia
Triennial Manchester and Lowry. From 2007-9 Helen led Marketing
Manchester’s Marketing Coordination Unit as the Director of Strategic
Marketing.
Helen was a Director of CTConsults for 10 years up to 2021, an agency
providing strategic guidance in culture, tourism, heritage, and brand development to places and destinations across the UK and
internationally.
She is the Chair of hÅb live art agency in Manchester.
She also writes a monthly Substack newsletter, PalmerSquared on
Festivals.
Helen has a B.A.(Hons) Tourism Studies, Chartered Institute of
Marketing Diploma, Masters in Humanities with Distinction (Film
Studies) and a PhD in Film Studies.
Helen’s background was originally in theatre marketing and PR, before
becoming a marketing consultant in 1999 and setting up Palmer Squared consultancy in 2015. She was the Press & Comms Lead for Walk the
Plank’s major 2022 outdoor arts commission Green Space Dark Skies.
She was part of the founding management teams of Manchester
International Festival, Cultureshock (Commonwealth Games North West
Cultural Programme, Manchester 2002), British Ceramics Biennial, Asia
Triennial Manchester and Lowry. From 2007-9 Helen led Marketing
Manchester’s Marketing Coordination Unit as the Director of Strategic
Marketing.
Helen was a Director of CTConsults for 10 years up to 2021, an agency
providing strategic guidance in culture, tourism, heritage, and brand development to places and destinations across the UK and
internationally.
She is the Chair of hÅb live art agency in Manchester.
She also writes a monthly Substack newsletter, PalmerSquared on
Festivals.
Helen has a B.A.(Hons) Tourism Studies, Chartered Institute of
Marketing Diploma, Masters in Humanities with Distinction (Film
Studies) and a PhD in Film Studies.
Will Allen
Trustee
Will Allen from the University of Oxford with a Psychology degree and after this,
Will moved to London to start a graduate training scheme with Smith &
Williamson, where he subsequently qualified as a Chartered Accountant.
Since then, he has spent over 10 years working in two high-growth
companies, enjoying a variety of roles across those Finance teams.
Outside of work, he has recently acted as a school governor and also as
an Independent Examiner of two charities, including Olympias. Will is married
to Sonja, who he met through swing dancing, and is a keen runner and
hiker.
Will Allen from the University of Oxford with a Psychology degree and after this,
Will moved to London to start a graduate training scheme with Smith &
Williamson, where he subsequently qualified as a Chartered Accountant.
Since then, he has spent over 10 years working in two high-growth
companies, enjoying a variety of roles across those Finance teams.
Outside of work, he has recently acted as a school governor and also as
an Independent Examiner of two charities, including Olympias. Will is married
to Sonja, who he met through swing dancing, and is a keen runner and
hiker.
Our Trustees
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