Sound and Music

Sonita Alleyne

Sonita Alleyne is the co-founder and chief executive of Somethin' Else, the cross-platform production company she set up 16 years ago with an initial stake of £1,500 from her and her two partners, who included the BBC radio DJ Jez Nelson, now the company's creative director.   Alleyne is a keen fly-fisher and lives in south London with the screenwriter James McCarthy and their son.

David Aspinall

David Aspinall combines a freelance musical life as a piano accompanist, recital organist and choral conductor with a career in financial planning. His business, Aspinall Financial Management, is currently responsible for in excess of £100M of client funds.

David was on the board of SPNM for nearly a decade and is involved with a number of other musical and non-musical charities.

Simon Emmerson

Simon Emmerson has been Professor of Music, Technology and Innovation at De Montfort University, Leicester since 2004. He wrote Living Electronic Music (Ashgate, 2007) and has written for numerous periodicals and conferences.

His most recent compositions include Arenas (piano, brass quintet, electronics, 2002-2003); and Resonances (electroacoustic, 2007).

He was elected board member of EMAS/Sonic Arts Network from 1979–2004 and then an honorary member. He is a member of the Académie Internationale de Musique Électroacoustique (Bourges), British Academy of Composers and Songwriters, RSM, Arts & Humanities Research Council and a board member of the Institute of Musical Research.

Sarah Faulder

Sarah Faulder Sarah Faulder has built her career around her passion for music. After many years as a solicitor specializing in copyright with City law firm Taylor Joynson Garrett she was appointed Chief Executive of the Music Publishers Association. She went on to work in Paris as Chargée de Mission for CISAC and BIEM, the umbrella organisations for royalty collecting societies, before becoming Public Affairs Director of the UK royalty collecting societies, PRS and MCPS (2006 – 2009). She has particular experience of both Whitehall and Brussels. Sarah’s current positions include Chair of the National Music Council (appointed 2009) and of the Bliss Trust.

Sally Groves

Sally Groves is the London Head of Contemporary Music for Schott Music International. She has been responsible for building and promoting the Music of Our Time catalogue for the past 28 years.

She is Chair of Trustees of the BMIC, a director of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and a Governor of the Royal Northern College of Music. She also serves on the North Music Trust.

Debra King

Debra King is an independent producer, programmer and project development director. She has an extensive knowledge of the arts sector and 15 years’ experience of working in arts management at a senior level.
She has worked as the Director of Women in Music London; Music Officer at the Arts Council England, North West; Creative Producer for the Commonwealth Games Cultural Programme and as the Programme Manager for Undergrowth, a two-year programme of Australian Contemporary Arts in the UK.

Debra is also the co-director of Fkuk, a partnership that aims to present and produce contemporary international performance, and the co-producer for the Nitin Sawhney project, Aftershock.

Michelle Wright

Michelle Wright is a director of Cause4 an enterprise supporting charities in organisational development and fundraising across the community, arts, sport and education sectors.

A chartered marketer and fundraiser, Michelle has held senior development and communications roles across the arts and charity sectors including devising new fundraising, marketing, PR and digital strategies at organisations such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Four Communications, Toynbee Hall and Youth Music. Michelle's successes in private sector fundraising led to her being judged the Best Upcoming Fundraiser at the National Fundraising Awards in 2008.

Michelle trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and played the violin professionally.  She remains an active musician leading various semi-professional ensembles including Sinfonia Tamesa, Pegasus and Cranbourne Ensembles and Ensemble 168.