Angela Mallinson takes up the role of Chair of
Britten Pears Arts and Sir Simon Robey becomes President
Britten Pears Arts today announces that Angela Mallinson (Sulivan) will become its new Chair succeeding Sir Simon Robey who becomes President alongside Lord Stevenson and Colin Matthews. Angela has been a trustee since 2020, following the merger of the Britten–Pears Foundation and Snape Maltings.
Angela has worked in artist management for over 40 years globally representing leading international conductors, solo instrumentalists and chamber ensembles. This included a 30-year partnership with Indian virtuoso Ravi Shankar, as well as developing the career of the ground-breaking sitarist Anoushka Shankar, including collaborations ranging from the British Film Institute to Glastonbury Festival. As Director of Maestro Arts and co-founder of Sulivan Sweetland, Angela gave particular focus to nurturing young musicians as well as bringing fresh impetus to mid-career artists. She was presented with the ABO/Rheingold Artist Manager of the Year Award in 2019. Having previously studied psychology as well as music, she has a deep belief in the transformative power of music to enhance lives and has cherished the opportunity to support this as Trustee of the Britten Pears Foundation and more recently of Britten Pears Arts. She has been coming to the Aldeburgh Festival and Snape Maltings with her family for many years and settled in Aldeburgh permanently in 2017.
During Sir Simon’s tenure BPA has grown considerably, expanding its performance and artist development programme with an increased focus on Creative Health, securing ownership of the Snape Maltings site in 2015 and merging with the Britten Pears Foundation (The Red House and Archive) in 2020. As a choral scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford, Sir Simon read English. He later embarked on a 25-year career at Morgan Stanley. He co-founded Robertson Robey LLP and latterly was joined by Simon Warshaw to create Robey Warshaw LLP, a specialist corporate finance advisory business. He is Chair of the Royal Academy of Music, a trustee of YCAT (Young Classical Artists Trust) and Honorary Vice President of the Royal Opera House, following 10 years as Chair. Sir Simon was knighted in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in June 2016 for services to music.
Lord Stevenson, President, Britten Pears Arts commented, ‘One of the proudest things I have ever done is handing over the role of Chair to Simon and watching this wonderful organisation fly under his leadership. It has gone from strength to strength, and on behalf of everyone at BPA, please accept our heartfelt thanks and gratitude for all your dedication and achievements. I am delighted that Simon is now joining Colin Matthews and me as President. I look forward to seeing BPA continue to thrive with Angela at the helm, and I know she will drive the organisation forward with passion and care.’
Sir Simon Robey commented, ‘It has been the greatest privilege to lead this organisation through a period of enormous change and development over the last decade, and to have worked with three exceptional Chief Executives in Jonathan Reekie, Roger Wright and Andrew Comben, wonderful board colleagues and the marvellous team at BPA. We all firmly believe in the power of music to transform lives, and this is central to everything we do. Angela shares this belief and passion, and I know BPA will continue to thrive under her leadership, working alongside Chief Executive Andrew Comben, whom Angela was instrumental in appointing last year. I have loved this place since I was a child and I will love it for the rest of my life, so I am deeply honoured to be appointed president alongside Dennis and Colin.’
Angela Mallinson commented, ‘It is such an honour to take up the role of Chair of Britten Pears Arts having been on the board since 2020. I have been coming here for many years and moved to Aldeburgh in 2017, and it is a truly special place. I’d like to pay tribute to Sir Simon Robey for his strategic vision that brought about the acquisition of the Snape Maltings site and, together with Sir Vernon Ellis the merger with the Britten Pears Foundation in 2020, and whose courage and empathy guided the organisation through the difficult pandemic period. Simon’s leadership and support for BPA is remarkable and I am deeply grateful for everything he has done to preserve the legacy of this wonderful organisation and setting it up to thrive into the future. The board and I are hugely excited to work with Andrew and the team at BPA to ensure that we continue to deliver Britten and Pears’ vision for music and the arts to be useful, helping people enhance and bring joy into their lives and to work together to grow the future of classical music.’
Hazel Edwards, South East Area Director, Arts Council England, said: ‘We warmly welcome Angela Mallinson’s appointment as Chair of Britten Pears Arts and congratulate Sir Simon Robey on his new role as President. Angela brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to artist development and cultural leadership; her appointment signals an exciting new chapter for Britten Pears Arts. Under Sir Simon’s tenure, Britten Pears Arts has grown into a pioneering force for creativity, community and wellbeing, rooted in Suffolk and resonating far beyond.’
Other new appointments include David Robbie becoming Deputy Chair of the BPA Board and Matthew Gregory will chair the Finance Audit and Risk Committee. BPA will be recruiting for new trustees to join its board later this year.