The Finzi Trust
Registered charity number: 313047
Registered address: PO Box 79200, London SW6 9RG.
Registered address: PO Box 79200, London SW6 9RG.
Founded in 1969, the Finzi Trust seeks to further the music, work and ideals of Gerald Finzi, assisting individuals and organisations and initiating projects which reflect its policy of encouraging artists and composers to develop their creativity.
The Trust has given support to recordings, performances, masterclasses, lectures, music festivals, composition awards, song competitions, composer-in-residence schemes and commissions. It works closely with Finzi's publisher, Boosey and Hawkes, in ensuring the composer's music is available globally in scholarly editions and versatile arrangements.
We acknowledge with deep appreciation the kindness shown by Jean Finzi to the Finzi Trust. A Trustee from 1992 until her death at the age of 90 in 2016, Jean's focus centred on creative encouragement, taking particular interest in offering opportunities for young musicians. Her legacy enables the Trust to strengthen this area of its work, putting into practice Finzi's expressed wish to 'shake hands with a good friend over the centuries'.
Recent initiatives:
International Composing Competition
Sing Finzi 2021
The Finzi Trust Hardship Fund at the Royal Academy of Music
Gerald Finzi Memorial Windows by Tom Denny at Gloucester Cathedral
The Trust has given support to recordings, performances, masterclasses, lectures, music festivals, composition awards, song competitions, composer-in-residence schemes and commissions. It works closely with Finzi's publisher, Boosey and Hawkes, in ensuring the composer's music is available globally in scholarly editions and versatile arrangements.
We acknowledge with deep appreciation the kindness shown by Jean Finzi to the Finzi Trust. A Trustee from 1992 until her death at the age of 90 in 2016, Jean's focus centred on creative encouragement, taking particular interest in offering opportunities for young musicians. Her legacy enables the Trust to strengthen this area of its work, putting into practice Finzi's expressed wish to 'shake hands with a good friend over the centuries'.
Recent initiatives:
International Composing Competition
Sing Finzi 2021
The Finzi Trust Hardship Fund at the Royal Academy of Music
Gerald Finzi Memorial Windows by Tom Denny at Gloucester Cathedral
Trustees
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STUART RITCHIE KC - Chairman
Stuart Ritchie was a music scholar at Radley College where, with piano his first love, he learned the organ under the despairing eye of Robert Gower, the Trust’s former Chairman. Following a degree in modern languages at Oxford in 1993 he qualified as a barrister and has been in practice in commercial and employment law since 1996, latterly at Fountain Court Chambers in London. He was appointed a QC [now KC] in 2012 and a Master of the Bench of Middle Temple in 2014. Music continues to be a precious hobby. He is Chairman of the Bar Choral Society and has accompanied amateur singers, choirs and other instrumentalists both within and outside the Inns of Court. Andrew Burn - Honorary Secretary
Andrew Burn read music at the University of East Anglia and has pursued a career in the arts and music management working for English National Opera, Citizens Theatre Glasgow, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. For 15 years he was also Artistic Director of the Chester Summer Music Festival. He was written and broadcast extensively on British music of the 20th and 21st centuries and is a founder member of the Arthur Bliss Trust. PAUL SPICER
Paul Spicer is one of the UK’s most influential choral conductors. He came to prominence through his work with the Finzi Singers and their numerous recordings for Chandos Records. He conducts the Birmingham Bach Choir, and for twenty-two years until 2022 was conductor of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Chamber Choir with whom he made many acclaimed recordings. He was one of the first two people to create a post-graduate course in Choral Conducting, first at the Royal College of Music and then, later, at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. He also taught at Oxford university and has been a regular guest conductor with the BBC Singers. Paul was Senior Producer for BBC Radio 3 in the Midlands until 1990, leaving to become Artistic Director of the Lichfield Festival. He left that post in 2001 to devote himself to conducting, teaching, composing and writing. Major compositions include Easter and Advent Oratorios and a choral symphony ‘Unfinished Remembering’ commemorating the centenary of the start of World War 1. As an author he has written biographies of his composition teacher, Herbert Howells (Seren Books), and of Sir George Dyson (Boydell Press). His biography of Sir Arthur Bliss was published in 2023 attracting enthusiastic reviews. He is a Fellow of University College, Durham, Honorary Research Fellow of Birmingham University, Chairman of the Sir George Dyson Trust, Trustee of the Finzi Trust, and a lay member of the Chapter of Lichfield Cathedral. ELIZABETH POOLEY
Liz Pooley has enjoyed a long association with the Finzi Trust since assisting at their first Weekend of English Music in 1981; she also served on the committee of the Finzi Trust Friends for 20 years. She teaches, as a woodwind specialist, and has a lot of experience in the area of music administration where she was involved in organising music festivals. She is currently also Administrator of the Arthur Bliss Trust. CHRISTIAN ALEXANDER
Christian Alexander was born in Liverpool and attended Bristol University where he studied composition with Robert Saxton, as well as lessons with Peter Maxwell Davies, Steve Martland and Louis Andriessen. Christian’s music has been broadcast both in the UK and abroad, and performed by many leading musicians, ensembles and orchestras. In recent years, Christian has written extensively for dance and moved into the field of electronic music. He divides his time between teaching at a boarding school in Berkshire and composing. Sara Ascenso
Iain Burnside
Iain Burnside, pianist, has appeared in recital with many of the world’s leading singers. Recent recordings include sets of Rachmaninoff and Medtner songs and recent performances include the three Schubert song cycles with Roderick Williams at Wigmore Hall. Iain is also active as a writer and broadcaster and is Artistic Director of the Ludlow English Song Weekend and Artistic Consultant to Grange Park Opera. ORLANDO FINZI
Orlando Finzi is the grandson of Joy and Gerald Finzi and has an enthusiastic interest in his grandparents’ lives and music. Orlando’s professional life is in finance rather than in the musical world, but he maintains the Finzi family’s strong tradition of musical appreciation. JONATHAN JAMES
Jonathan is a music educator, conductor and workshop leader who has freelanced for over twenty years for orchestras, conservatoires, national organisations and concert venues across Europe. He is in demand as a pre-concert speaker and presenter, and his workshops are informed by his research into creative musicianship. He founded the Bristol Pre-Conservatoire, an evening school for talented young musicians, in 2010. ALEX PATTERSON
Alex Patterson is a Northern Irish-born conductor, composer and choral animateur now based in Manchester. He is Director of Music at Salford Cathedral and has previously worked for Nottingham Cathedral, Arts Council England and Music for Everyone. Alex has written a wealth of choral music, which has been performed and broadcast globally, and distributed by Banks Music Publications.
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