Jazz North is excited to announce the appointment of six new trustees joining its dynamic board; musicians Perrilena Alleyne Hughes, Richard Henry, Jilly Jarman and Dennis Rollins, Web Developer and CMS specialist Jeni Tehan and Communications Consultant Jon Beck. The new trustees will help Jazz North shape the future of the organisation as it navigates a new landscape for live music.
Dennis Rollins said, “I'm extremely excited to be appointed as a Trustee Board Member of Jazz North. As a musician and educator, I'm looking forward to being a part of a team dedicated and focused in making a difference to the lives of young musicians."
Trustees will join at an important time for the organisation, which has worked hard to support musicians and promoters throughout the pandemic, moving many of its career development activities, networking meetings and one to monitoring sessions online, and offering financial support packages and emergency funding advice to musicians and promoters.
Simon Ryder, Vice Chair said, “I am delighted that we have been able to appoint six Trustees of such high calibre who will bring a wide range of skills, perspectives and lived experience to further strengthen our board at this pivotal time for the jazz sector. We understand that the challenges we all face right now will have long term consequences for musicians, promoters and venues and our new Trustees will help to transform our work.”
CEO Lesley Jackson said “Alongside the challenges created by the pandemic, we also recognise that the jazz industry has a long way to go to become a truly diverse and inclusive sector. I am looking forward to working with our new Trustees to develop new plans and initiatives that will grow our reach, develop new partnerships and ensure that we are an organisation that stands up to inequality, invests in diversity and makes real change.”
The appointments, which will double the size of the Jazz North Board, were made after Jazz North adapted its recruitment process and enlisted the support of Black Lives in Music to help promote the vacancies. The new appointees join the other members of the Board of Trustees: Chair – Debra King; Simon Ryder; Alexander Douglas; Dafydd Williams; Craig Chapman and Neil Dutton.
