Julia Pearson – Chair (Trustee)
Julia spent sixteen years in the USA during which time she worked for an international Bach Festival in Philadelphia.
Her background is in clinical social work in the Unites tates and in the UK. She lives in Shere and has four grandchildren.
Julia established the Festival’s management Committee in 2012 and has held the role of Chair since that time.
Gary Lloyd – Treasurer (Trustee)
Gary Lloyd has been Treasurer of the Festival from the beginning and is also a Trustee. A qualified chartered accountant, he followed key roles at British Aerospace and KPMG with a further period running his own practice before retiring.
Previously an active cricketer, he now keeps fit by running distances ranging from 5k parkruns to marathons. He lives in Westhumble so has plenty of opportunities for training in the Surrey Hills!
Patricia Jubert – Committee Secretary
I was first introduced to the Festival as a guest at a concert at Denbies and then became involved in organising the rota for volunteering at the venues.
I joined the Management Committee in 2020 as Secretary and thoroughly enjoy the insight into the workings of producing such an amazing season of concerts.
I confess that I can neither play an instrument nor sing in tune; my talents lie rather more with a pair of secateurs and a propagator!
Henry Pearson (Trustee)
Henry has been associated with the Festival as a member of the Management Committee since its formation. He retired in 2021 as the UK Cyber Security Ambassador, based in the Department for International Trade, following an extensive career in consultancy and providing advice to Governments on IT-related matters.
He manages the Festival website and concert ticketing.
George Burnett (Trustee)
George Burnett holds degrees in Classics and Law from the University of Glasgow and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accounts of Scotland. He and a business partner founded Ashtead Group PLC, now a major FTSE 100 company, where he was Managing Director and then Chief Executive.
He is currently Chairman of The English Concert and the Founding Chair of the Benedetti Foundation. George became a Trustee of the Festival in 2017.
Lyn Litchfield (Trustee)
A Chinese-born Finn, Lyn Litchfield has extensive international exposure; she started her career as a TV journalist & news reporter in China. Before founding Premier Business Matchmaking & Consulting Ltd, she had 15 years of rich experience in the Telecom industry, working for Nokia with teams & clients worldwide.
Lyn is also a great fan of classical music, opera, theatre, fine art, books & fashion.
Cindy Peck (Trustee)
Cindy has had a long and distinguished career as a City Solicitor. She is now a non-executive director on a number of boards including Ofqual, the Architects Registration Board (the regulator of architects), Birkbeck College – University of London, and the Royal College of Psychiatry. She uses her prior experience to focus in particular on strategy development and risk management. She has been an enthusiastic supporter of the Festival for many years and became a trustee in 2020.
Martin Johnson (Trustee)
Martin Johnson is a local musician who performs regularly with choirs, orchestras and chamber music groups all over Surrey. As well as his love of music Martin has a strong commercial background in management and finance and has been advising multinational companies for over 20 years. He brings organisational, strategic and commercial experience to his role as Trustee.
Wu Qian – Artistic Director
Qian co-founded the Festival in 2010. Born in Shanghai, she began her long-standing association with the Surrey Hills when she moved here, aged 13, to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School. She is a founding member of the Sitkovetsky Trio and is a winner of a 2016 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award and of the first prize at the Trio di Trieste Duo Competition with Alexander Sitkovetsky, and performs regularly in the United States each season as a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
Tracy Lees
Tracy has been in the classical music profession for over 30 years and was the manager of the International Piano Series at London’s Southbank Centre, as well as managing many top international artists for a leading classical music agency. She has long had an association with music in Surrey and sings in her local choir in Wimbledon as well as performing in several churches in the Surrey Hills area.
Surrey Hills International Music Festival is a Registered Charity No. 1171264