Our Trustees

Emma Johnson

Emma Johnson MBE is one of the few clarinettists to have established a career as a solo performer. She has made 30 recordings, including English Fantasy with the BBC Concert Orchestra (tracks from which have been streamed over 5 million times).
 

Emma’s career took off when she won the BBC Young Musician of the Year at the age of 17 in front of a TV audience of 12 million viewers. She has given concerts and broadcasts all over the world, including the premiere of her own composition, Songs of Celebration at Gloucester Cathedral in 2021 and her clarinet concerto, Tree of Life which will tour in 2024.

She has taught at the Royal College of Music in London and is also passionate about increasing access to music in primary schools. She has performed her Pied Piper project with school children throughout the UK and more recently has devised Instrument Stories to introduce children to the instruments of the orchestra.

Johnson is an honorary Fellow of Pembroke College Cambridge University and in 2020 was awarded the Cobbett Medal for services to chamber music by the Musicians’ Company Guild in the City of London.

Clare Wright

Clare Wright grew up in south Manchester, singing at school from a young age, and playing her grandfather's violin in school groups and the local Youth Orchestra. After time at Cambridge and London, she now lives in West Yorkshire, and is a keen member of the Huddersfield Choral and three other local music ensembles. She was delighted to find local schools offering a strong musical tradition for her children, even if they tell her they prefer Wicked or Hamilton to Wagner or Handel. As an academic at University of Leeds, Clare is passionate about the power of musical education to enhance children's chances in life both in and out of the classroom, and the importance of creating opportunities for children of all backgrounds to experience the transformational sense of connection that music-making, and particularly playing as part of an orchestra, can bring. 

Paul Harris

Paul Harris is one of the UK’s most influential music educationalists. He studied the clarinet at the Royal Academy of Music, where he won the August Manns Prize for outstanding performance in clarinet playing and where he now teaches. He is in great demand as a teacher, composer, and writer (he has written over 600 books); and his inspirational masterclasses and workshops continue to influence thousands of young musicians and teachers all over the world in both the principles and practice of musical performance and education.

John Davison

John studied languages at Pembroke College, Cambridge and was Principal Horn of various University Orchestras and ensembles during his time there. He is also a keen pianist and considers himself very fortunate to have grown up in a musical family in Newcastle, attending local schools which always nurtured his passion for music. 

After completing an MBA at Harvard, John embarked on an international business career with McKinsey before successful stints at multinationals Diageo, Danone & Unilever. John now splits his time between London, Singapore and the Canadian Rockies. He serves on company boards in Dubai and Jakarta as well as non-profit boards at Singapore Management University and Pembroke College. He also enjoys coaching at leading business school IMD in Lausanne.