Whilst at Garsington Phil worked closely with the Board of Directors and the Senior Management Team in the planning and application of 8 opera seasons. As an opera fan Phil loved being involved in world-class productions using some of the best conductors, singers and orchestras in the world, a particular highlight being the 2019 production of The Turn of The Screw.  He relished the opportunity to work with the Learning and Participation department to help deliver various transformational projects most notably the world-premiere of Silver Birch by Roxanna Panufnik involving 180 singers from the local community.

As a musician Phil has sung with different orchestras in many of the top venues in the country including the Royal Albert Hall and the Southbank Centre whilst a member of The Bach Choir and has recently ‘dusted off’ his tenor saxophone to join local swing group Swing Street. Whilst at University he was the choral director for the Bangor University Music Society and directed the Bangor University Jazz Band and sang in the university’s annual opera performances.

Recently appointed as General Manager for Hastings International Piano, Phil has enjoyed returning to his roots in Sussex and is really looking forward to bringing his experience and knowledge to help the charity grow and develop its programme.

She is a trustee of Hastings Contemporary, Hastings International Piano and the Fairlight Arts Trust, a Patron Governor of Ark Schools and a Founder director of Bridgepoint, Rye. She is a Deputy Lieutenant of East Sussex, an Honorary Doctor of the University of East Anglia, and a Fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society.

In 1987 he was chosen by Chichester Cathedral to study the Lutheran Tradition of Church Music and training of organists in Berlin. Whilst there he attended the Berliner Kirkenmusikschule and played in various venues. He has examined throughout the world for the Royal Schools of Music and has also adjudicated piano and other classes in Festivals in the UK and abroad. He has sat on the Jury in Concerto competitions in Hong Kong and Hastings, of which he was the original inspiration for, and planner of, the first Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition in 2005.

Educated at London’s Trinity College of Music, Gill was Executive Director of the Society for the Promotion of New Music (SPNM) from 1997 to 2002. The organisation has worked with the UK’s top orchestras and performing groups, placing new work by emerging British composers at
the heart of the performing agenda. From 1999-2004 she was Vice-President of the International Society for Contemporary Music. Before joining SPNM, she was Head of Performance at the Royal College of Music and, previously, on the staff at Mountview Theatre School. She is an adviser and mentor for the medallists of The Cliburn Piano Competition, a music nominator for the Rolex Arts Initiative, and consults for many not for profit organisations in the U.K. and US. She is on the board of International Contemporary Ensemble in the USA and Pacitti Company, one
of Europe’s leading experimental theatre companies.

Richard is also a Patron of the Young Classical Artists Trust which prepares young gifted potential international musicians for their future careers. He states that ‘I was asked to join the committee of HIPCC to channel some of my energy and enthusiasm into helping others more expert than myself into building up the competition into a major international event in the musical calendar. My longstanding appointment as one of the Deputy Lieutenants of East Sussex has been very helpful in that regard.
I work with and support the East Sussex Schools Music Service, a remarkable high quality organisation noted particularly for the expertise and dedication of its teachers who go far beyond the call of duty to enthuse young people from an early age.’