Patron: John Lill CBE

The Society’s Patron is John Lill CBE who is arguably Britain’s most well known pianist. He first came to international attention when he won the coveted Tchaikovsky award in Moscow in 1970 and has recently celebrated his 60th birthday with a series of concerts throughout the UK. Known for his aristocratic interpretations of Beethoven and the great masters of the nineteenth and twentieth century piano repertoire, John Lill performs all over the world. He was awarded a CBE in the 2005 New Year's Honours List.

President: Michael Berkeley

The Society’s President is Michael Berkeley, the composer and broadcaster who lives near Ludlow.

Michael Berkeley was born in 1948, the eldest son of the composer Sir Lennox Berkeley. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music and with the composer Richard Rodney Bennett. In 1977 he was awarded the Guinness Prize for Composition.

Michael Berkeley's works include: The Oratorio Or Shall We Die? (1982); For the Savage Messiah (1985); Songs of Awakening Love (1986); the Organ Concerto (1987); Keening for the saxophonist John Harle; Fierce Tears I and II for the oboist Nicholas Daniel, who played Fierce Tears II at an LMS concert in 1992; the opera Baa Baa Black Sheep (1993); The Garden of Earthly Delights (1998); the opera, Jane Eyre (2000); the string quintet, Abstract Mirror (2002); Tristessa (2003); Gestthemane - a sacred scena (2003); Persistent Memory (2004); Double Guitar Concerto (2004); Slow Down (2005); Shooting Stars (2005); and Concerto for Orchestra (2005).

Michael Berkeley presents Private Passions, on Radio 3. This won the Broadcasting Press Guild's Radio Programme of the Year Award in 1996. Since 1995, he has been the artistic director of the Cheltenham International Festival of Music.

Committee

The Society is run by a Committee which is elected annually at the AGM. The Committee are the Trustees of the charity.  The membership of the Committee is:

Officers

Chairman:  James Caird (01584 876141) ( james@caird.org.uk )
Secretary: Imogen Liddle (01584 872406)
Treasurer: Peter Leach (01584 872755)
Concert Secretary: Susie Allan ( concertsecretary@ludlowmusicsociety.org.uk )

Committee members:

Daphne Balchin (01568 780723)
Roy Coles (01584 877233)
Andrew Pike (01584 861426) 

If you are interested in helping with the work of the Society, please contact the Hon. Secretary or speak to any Committee member.