Board of Trustees

Born in 1945, John read Philosophy at Trinity College Dublin. He attended the College of Law and was admitted as a solicitor in 1974, which career he pursued until 2006.

He specialised in clinical negligence, in personal Injury, particularly claims involving head injury, and in professional negligence (solicitors, accountants, surveyors etc).

He was a senior litigation partner from 1984 and a member of management board of his firm from 1986-2006.

He served as a member of AvMA (the UK charity for patient safety & justice) referral panel for solicitors specialising in medical negligence claims, and of the Law Society’s specialist panels for professional negligence, personal injury and clinical negligence work.

John was a trustee of Headway South East London and North West Kent, a day centre for victims of head injury, until 2008, performing a wide variety of strategic, legal, secretarial and treasurer roles.

John has been an enthusiastic amateur musician for most of his life. He joined the Board of EOC in 2016.

Charlie is a Project Manager by profession, running his own company within the construction sector, advising clients on sustainable building and the management of construction projects and building costs.

He says that his musical intelligence (grade 2 Piano) was rescued by Christian whilst they were at York University together; he attended many of Christian’s performances in the University Music Department and at York Early Music Festival. They have stayed in touch ever since, and Charlie became a Trustee of EOC in 2003.

He claims that his knowledge of early opera is still sketchy, but his experience and background in Project Management makes him good at defining tasks and getting things done. He also has general experience in the NGO sector and is a trustee of two grant-making organisations.

Vivienne has a professional background in psychology and occupational health and over fifteen years’ experience as a senior manager in both healthcare, higher biomedical education and clinical research. She has lived and worked in Australia, the United States, Asia and the United Kingdom.

Her business experience includes general management within the private and public sectors, in occupational and organisational psychology and she has been a regional consultant for two American multi-national companies. Vivienne has more than 5 years’ experience as a trustee of other period instrument orchestras. Vivienne is also currently a trustee of the English Concert. Her personal interests in music, as a supporter and a regular concert-goer, include opera, early and baroque music; as an amateur musician, she plays renaissance and baroque lutes and is learning to play the clavichord.

A barrister by profession, Nicky had a wide and varied career in the Civil Service, moving out of her legal specialism to combine her legal background with a personnel focus. For six and a half years she was Head of Corporate Resources and Services, first in the former Lord Chancellor’s Department, and latterly in the Cabinet Office. During this time she became involved with musical charities as a trustee and voluntary fundraiser.

In 2001 she left the civil service and became a Partner at executive search firm, Odgers Berndtson. Nicky developed the government and arts and heritage practices in the business and has led many of the most senior arts and heritage appointments in the UK and beyond.

Nicky is a lover of baroque music and has been a board member of musical organisations over the past 20 years. She is a Trustee of the English Concert, Spitalfields Music, Early Opera Company and Tenebrae.

Having retired as a lawyer, Andrew now works with a number of charities. Having been a trustee of The Guildhall School Trust, he is now trustee of a number of charities mainly concerned with education and/or music.

Details coming soon.

Stephen Sobey is a consultant who specialises in communications and marketing strategies for global clients; he has over 10 years’ experience working with blue chip firms. In 2015 he founded his own company which provides communication guidance to clients, on both a strategic and reactive basis.

Stephen began his career working for the Conservatives prior to the 2010 General Election. Stephen has served as a judge on the Opera Panel of the Olivier Awards and holds a degree in History from Royal Holloway College, University of London. He has also served on the Committee of the Young Patrons of the Royal Academy of Art.

Tom is a KC, practising in Media and Commercial law. He is Joint Head of Blackstone Chambers.

As a Media lawyer, he deals particularly with copyright disputes and has a particular interest in music-related cases; he has wide experience of copyright law and has practised as a music lawyer for over 20 years. As a Commercial lawyer, he has to deal with a wide range of complex issues and problems, assisting both individuals and businesses.

He has acted in a wide variety of volunteer and charitable roles, including being an active member of the “Lawyers in Schools” project; volunteering for a programme organised by the National Centre for Citizenship and Law that involved assisting school children to prepare for a debate in the Supreme Court; involvement with the Guy Fox History Project, an educational charity in London which brings history and cartoon drawing to London primary schools; acting as a trustee of the Alexander Maxwell Law Trust, which was established to provide funding for legal practitioners when writing books; being a member of the Independent Monitoring Board (then called the Board of Visitors) of HMP Wormwood Scrubs; and many others. He is also a Trustee of the Continuo Foundation.