Meet our Trustees
Chairman - The Hon Richard Lyttelton
Richard is the former President of EMI Classics and Jazz. He joined EMI in 1968 and held various positions including Director of International Operations for EMI Records UK, Managing Director of EMI’s businesses in South Africa and Finland and President of Capitol Records – EMI in Canada. He became President of EMI Classics and Jazz in 1988 and has worked with many of the world’s most outstanding classical and jazz artists. Richard retired from EMI in 2006 and is currently a council member of the Royal College of Music and Chairman of Artis Education.
William Parker - Honorary Treasurer
William is a retired Solicitor who was a Partner with the international law firm Freshfields from 1972 to 1997. He has been a Trustee of the Musicians Benevolent Fund since 1994, having been elected to the Finance Committee three years earlier. He was elected Honorary Treasurer in 2004.
John Axon
John Axon became a trustee of the Musicians Benevolent Fund in 2006. He qualified as a chartered accountant in the 1970s, moving on to financial posts in brewing and retailing. The bulk of his career was spent with PRS for Music, the mutual association that licences premises, broadcasters, phone and cable services for the public performance of music and lyrics; then passing on its revenues to composers as royalties. In various senior roles he gained considerable experience of the business side of music and awareness of the problems of creators whose incomes can fall and health fail. He is married, 63 years old, retired and lives in the Chilterns.
Jane Manning OBE
Jane was born in Norwich and studied at the Royal Academy of Music and in Switzerland. Known internationally as a singer of contemporary music, she has given more than 300 world premieres and has an extensive recording catalogue. She is also a published author of musical text books, and holds Honorary Doctorates from the Universities of Durham, Keele and York.
Audrey Hills
Audrey chairs our Care and Welfare Committee which helps musicians in need. She is a former civil servant and further education lecturer and manager. She has sung for many years in amateur choirs. Audrey joined the Fund in 1998, having been involved in other charities as a trustee.
Martin Neary LVO
Martin - organist and conductor at St. Margaret’s, Westminster (1965-71), Winchester Cathedral (1972-87), Westminster Abbey (1988-98) has championed the works of contemporary composers (in particular Jonathan Harvey and John Tavener) and was much involved in the early music movement. He is Chairman of the Organists Charitable Trust and has twice been President of the Royal College of Organists.
Thomas Sharpe QC
Tom read Law at Cambridge, taught at Oxford, and was called to the Bar by Lincoln’s Inn, becoming a Bencher in 2004. He specialises in competition law and utility regulation, especially in the telecommunications, energy and water sectors. His interest in music is long standing: his mother trained as a concert pianist. He became a Trustee in 1999, and serves on the Finance Committee.