The Orchestra of St John’s hopes to appoint up to four new Trustees
The Orchestra and Choir, established by John Lubbock 60 years ago, are named after our first performance venue, St John’s Smith Square, in central London. We are a fully professional ensemble with a worldwide reputation and a passionate following. We now perform principally at the Sheldonian Theatre, Dorchester Abbey and SJE Arts in Oxfordshire. You’ll find much more about us at https://www.osj.org.uk.
We are lucky to have many dedicated enthusiasts and donors, and hope to appoint a small number of new Trustees (unlike our musicians and management you won’t be paid) to be responsible for the present and future leadership of the charity. You do not need to be a musician but experience in the oversight and management of comparable ventures would be a great benefit to us. And you’ll need to love what we do.
In addition to a busy concert programme our musicians make regular visits to schools with SEND pupils – and are widely admired for this work. We hope to extend this programme under the banner of ‘OSJ Music for Autism’ more widely across the UK. If one or more of our new Trustees had experience in a comparable educational/ charitable undertaking that would be a great bonus. [We have been in discussion with the BBC about the possibility of a ‘Neurodiverse Prom’ in 2026 or beyond which illustrates the ambition we have for this work].
Our expectation is that Trustees will serve for four years (renewable once) and be available for a quarterly meeting usually in or near Oxford. In an ideal world we will assemble a group with expertise in management (particularly in the not-for-profit sector), fundraising. marketing and PR, budget, and concert programming, promotion and production. In return we’ll be able to offer a high degree of job satisfaction.
If I can tempt you to meet up to discuss this further please get in touch with me at chair@osj.org.uk. Applications close on 1 March.
Michèle Smith
Chair of Trustees
