Into Opera appoints five new trustees

Music charity Into Opera has appointed five new trustees: George Chambers, Rosenna East, Jaime Morgan Hitchcock, Elizabeth Llewellyn, and Harriet Wybor. Founded in 2017, the charity hosts events, music commissions, digital access projects and core education work to encourage people to connect with opera.

The new trustees double the size of the charity’s existing board which includes David Walker, Fran Ludden, Charles MacDougall, Nicholas Simpson and Professor David Waugh as well as chief executive and artistic director Genevieve Raghu.

Board of Trustees chair, David Walker, said that the new trustees’ ‘combined experience will contribute enormously to the charity’s main aim of making opera more accessible for all, and determination to tackle the actual and perceived barriers preventing some people from having the opportunity, means or inclination to experience opera.’

George Chambers has worked with arts and music organisations for over a decade. Currently head of Communications and External Relations at the Royal Academy of Music, Chambers has recorded with Sir Simon Rattle, toured with soprano Rebecca Hardwick and performed with the Norwegian Soloists Choir.

Before becoming managing director of Sinfonia of London, Rosenna East was general manager of Nevill Holt Opera, where she oversaw the festival’s significant growth over her five years in the role. East has also worked as a professional violinist, journalist, presenter and music teacher.

Jaime Morgan Hitchcock is a director of Sport4Health, which provides free sport for vulnerable children and adults in London, and a co-founder of Advantage Table Tennis Academy which provides disabled people with free table tennis coaching. Hitchcock also has over 15 years of experience in the software and cloud-computing industries.

Soprano Elizabeth Llewellyn trained at the RNCM and the National Opera Studio, making her operatic debut in 2010 as an ENO Young Artist. She recorded and released her debut album during the pandemic and also co-founded a research & development charity for under-represented music-creators in classic music.

Currently head of Business Development (Music) at Oxford University Press, Harriet Wybor has worked in music publishing, collective rights management and artist development for over a decade with experience at Wise Music Group, Manners McDade and PRS for Music. Wybor holds postgraduate degrees in music and law as well as an MBA from Durham University.

Into Opera’s chief executive and artistic director, Genevieve Raghu, said: ‘Whilst the pandemic has put enormous pressures on us as a charity, the wide range of expertise these new trustees are set to bring to the charity will benefit our work enormously, increasing our creativity and dynamism and helping us to continue offering empowering, high quality and innovative opera experiences for more people.’

You can find out more about Into Opera here.