Meet Our People

The Society is run by the Trustees, key operational experts, and a team of volunteers. You will have met or seen many of them if you have been to any of our concerts as they are frequently involved in welcoming guests, supporting our volunteers and ensuring that our concerts run smoothly for everyone involved.

The Trustees

The Trustees are legally responsible for the Society. They form the core of the management team and lead the strategic development of the Society. Most (but not all) Trustees have a special interest in a particular ‘department’ and lead the Society’s activities in those areas.

Our current Trustees are Charles Fox (Chair of Trustees), John Pollard (Vice-Chair and Treasurer), Catherine Alexander, Syl Welberry (Secretary to the Trustees), Sarah Watson and Pam Grant.

The President and Vice-Presidents

The President of the Society is an honorary role and advises on the long-term strategy for the Society. The current President, Thorben Dittes, was appointed in January 2021 and is a leading manager in the live classical music field.

The Vice-Presidential role is also an honorary one and Lakeland Sinfonia currently has two Vice-Presidents, who each contribute their vast experience in delivering live orchestral music and developing musicians:

• Stephen Threlfall was appointed in February 2021 and he is a very well-respected expert in the classical music scene as well as being Artistic Director of the Lake District Summer Music Festival.
• Martin Hughes is lead violinist of the Lakeland Sinfonia orchestra and a director of successful music festivals around Hexham.

Key Operational People

• Peter Crompton is the Manager, Librarian and a fine trumpet player of the Lakeland Sinfonia orchestra. As well as managing and playing in the orchestra, he as performed solos and duets at our concerts.
• Martin Hughes is the Leader of the Lakeland Sinfonia, playing lead violin with the orchestra and as a soloist. Martin is also responsible for programming and scheduling the Lakeland Sinfonia concerts.
• Katharine Carter is the Concert Coordinator. She coordinates activities on concert days, helping to ensure that arrangements on stage and behind the scenes meet the needs of the orchestra and soloists.
• Pam Grant is our Box Office Manager as well as being one of our newest Trustees. She organises the pop-up Box Office on the evening of our concerts but is also the point of contact and trouble shooter on tickets throughout the season.
• Sally Seed is our Marketing Manager and is responsible for managing day-to-day marketing and publicity, the annual brochure, press releases and social media.

Our Volunteers

We have several teams of volunteers who help with distributing publicity around the Kendal area, running the pop-up Box Office in the foyer on concert nights, and helping in the auditorium. You can read more about them and opportunities to volunteer on the Volunteer page.