In 2019 we were awarded charity status by the OSCR (charity number SC049216). Find out more about our Trustees below:

Angela Livingstone (Chair)

Angela Livingstone is the former Head of Vocal Performance and Opera at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, where she led an international team of specialist vocal teachers, coaches, repetiteurs, conductors and directors to deliver skilled artists into the international music industry. She was responsible for introducing and delivering the college’s first ever advanced opera training course, now known as The David Seligman Opera School. She began her professional life working extensively as a collaborative pianist with singers and instrumentalists as well as orchestral work and ballet. Her professional experience encompasses opera, theatre, musical theatre, contemporary opera, choral work and recitals and she has broadcast frequently for radio and TV. 

Angela has a longstanding commitment to the development of young talent in all disciplines and has had a long association with Live Music Now, the charity bringing high quality performance by emerging artists to people across all communities. She is an experienced examiner and adjudicator and since 2014, a member of the final audition panel for BBC Cardiff Singer of The World. Angela was a staff pianist at Oxenfoord for over twenty years, joining the course in its second year (and is delighted to join the Trustees of Oxenfoord).

Henrietta Bredin

Henrietta Bredin is deputy editor of Opera magazine and publications editor for Garsington Opera. Her career in opera began with English National Opera, where she worked as a dramaturg and as co-founder of ENO’s Contemporary Opera Studio, commissioning and producing world premieres with the Almeida Theatre of works including Powder Her Face by Thomas Adès and Siren Song by Jonathan Dove. For Opera North and Welsh National Opera she has produced over 100 programme books and her articles and interviews have appeared in The Guardian, The Telegraph, Country Life, The Spectator and in numerous theatre and opera programmes.

Henrietta has devised a series of Song Stories, narrated song recitals around the lives and loves of the composers Richard Strauss, Charles Gounod and Pauline Viardot, that have been performed at festivals around the UK. A late-starting singer, she first attended the Oxenfoord International Summer School in 2017 and is now a committed annual returnee.

Melvin Claridge

Melvin’s varied career path (from diplomat to opera singer, banker and psychotherapist) has a broad sweep as well as common themes, which include concern for others and a desire to make a practical difference. A former opera singer (who occasionally still performs in charity concerts), Melvin is a commercial solicitor, specialising in government contracts. He is also an accredited mediator. Previously, Melvin ran his own psychotherapy practice, providing private trauma psychotherapy to individuals, couples and organisations, specialising in post-traumatic stress and performance anxiety.

Melvin is Talent Director at Pegasus Opera Company, and was instrumental in the formation of Pegasus Talent, a new artist management agency representing classical musicians of African and Asian heritage. Additionally, he serves on Glyndebourne Opera’s Creative Conspirators advisory board. Melvin’s interests in legal practice include contracts, procurement, art law, and cultural property law.

David Elliott

David moved to Edinburgh in the summer of 2004 when he was appointed Director of Music at George Watson’s College. He spent 18 very happy years in that role and retired from full-time teaching in the summer of 2022. In retirement he has continued to work on a part-time basis at St Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh, teaching classes Higher and Advanced Higher Music as well as A-level Music.
David was born in London, and after studying for a B.Mus. degree at Royal Holloway College, University of London, he was appointed to teach in the Music Department at The Latymer School in north London in 1981. After five years he was promoted to Director of Music and spent a total of 23 years at the school. Whilst in post he completed a part-time
M.A. in Music Education at the University of London Institute of Education and was later seconded for a year to work with trainee teachers there, as well as teaching on the teacher training programme at Middlesex University. He worked as a senior examiner in A-level Music performance for Edexcel Board in London for 25 years and has also worked as an examiner for OCR A-level Board and the SQA.
David is a member of the Independent Society of Musicians and is also a Liveryman in the Worshipful Company of Musicians and a Freeman of the City of London. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Edinburgh Youth Orchestra.

Dr Patricia MacMahon 

Patricia MacMahon has earned a reputation over many years as a singer, teacher and vocal coach. Throughout her singing career, Pat specialised in concert, recital and oratorio work,  frequently recording for the BBC. In Scotland she sang regularly with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and appeared often at the Edinburgh International Festival.

Pat taught singing at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama for nearly forty years (now Royal Conservatoire of Scotland), receiving an Honorary Fellowship in 2000 and an Honorary Doctorate in 2013, and has taken many masterclasses, including visits to the Royal College of Music, London; Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester; Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, Cardiff; the Samling Foundation Masterclass; the Conservatorium van Amsterdam; in Portugal (Oporto, Aveiro and Vila do Conde); and at Lake Placid Institute International Voice Seminar, USA. She has adjudicated and examined throughout the UK and as far afield as Hong Kong and Singapore.

Duncan Wilson CBE

Duncan became Chief Executive of the newly formed Historic England in May 2015.  Duncan joined Historic England from the Alexandra Park and Palace Trust where he was Chief Executive from 2011 to 2015. From 2002 Duncan was Chief Executive of the Greenwich Foundation for the Old Royal Naval College, and before that Director of the Somerset House Trust. Duncan’s first job as a chartered accountant in 1987 was as Senior Management Accountant at English Heritage. Before accountancy he worked as a professional archaeologist in Oxford and Herefordshire, following post graduate research in European Archaeology.

Duncan is also a trustee of The Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust and The Greenwich Foundation for the Old Royal Naval College. He has previously been a trustee of the Churches Conservation Trust (2008-2017) and the Royal Armouries (2007-2011) and a community governor of Corelli College in Greenwich (2004-2007). He became a RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Honorary Fellow in 2022 and was awarded the CBE for services to heritage in 2023.

Simon Yates

Simon Yates is currently Global Head of Equities at Nomura and previously held positions as CEO, Two Sigma Securities and Global Head of Equity Derivatives at Citibank and Credit Suisse.  Born in England, Simon began piano lessons at the age of four, adding organ and voice a few years later.  He attended Cambridge University where he studied Mathematics with an organ scholarship to Emmanuel College. Simon has served on the boards of the League of American Orchestras, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and is currently an Advisory Director of Carnegie Hall.