Leslie Kwan and Chris Loughran Join ABO Board

Two new members have been appointed to the Association of British Orchestras (ABO) Board: Leslie Kwan, Founder and Managing Director, Lionsgate Music and Chris Loughran, Senior Policy & Advocacy Advisor, The HALO Trust.

Leslie Kwan is an American harpsichordist and the founder and Managing Director of Lionsgate Music, a new charity dedicated to supporting the NHS through live chamber music concerts exclusively for hospital staff, patients and their families in the United Kingdom.

Chris Loughran is Senior Policy & Advocacy Advisor for The HALO Trust, a leading global landmine clearance and conflict recovery NGO. He leads HALO's UK and global policy and political engagement strategy, including at the UN in New York and Geneva.

The announcement follows the appointment in November 2020 of Director of BBC Philharmonic, Simon Webb, as ABO Chair.

ABO Chair, Simon Webb: Leslie and Chris join us following a search and recruitment process that forms part of a comprehensive governance review. They bring skills and perspectives that will strengthen our already excellent board, as we continue to support and offer leadership to the orchestral sector through and beyond these challenging times. The orchestral sector in the UK is full of creative ambition, and the ABO board needs to reflect this as it works with the ABO team on behalf of the sector. I look forward to Leslie and Chris bringing their energy and vision to the organisation.

The ABO Board now comprises Peter Bellingham, Chief Executive, Sinfonia Cymru; Phil Boughton, Director of Orchestra & Chorus, Opera North; Thorben Dittes, Director, Royal Northern Sinfonia and Classical Music Programme, Sage Gateshead; Ellen Gallagher, Associate, Hamlins LLP; Jenny Jamison, Chief Executive, Scottish Ensemble; Leslie Kwan, Founder and Managing Director, Lionsgate Music; Chris Loughran, Senior Policy & Advocacy Advisor, The HALO Trust; Linda Merrick, Principal and Professor, Royal Northern College of Music; Simon Webb, Director, BBC Philharmonic (Chair); and James Williams, Managing Director, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Kwan and Loughran join the ABO as it prepares for its 2021 Conference which will take place online from 10-12 March. Through a series of keynote speeches and interactive panel discussions, the three-day online conference will focus on the theme of 'Aftershock', analysing the seismic issues that have sent shockwaves through the sector - from the devastating impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic and the threatening repercussions of Brexit, to the urgency of the climate change crisis and the reignited call to confront classical music's inequities and action meaningful change in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement. It will also offer an opportunity to champion the invention and flexibility shown by orchestras and musicians in continuing to connect with audiences, and to discuss the new approaches they can take forward to adapt to the new post-COVID landscape and build recovery. For the first time, the opening day of the conference will be free to attend for musicians, hosted in partnership with Help Musicians.

For further information about the ABO and the 2021 ABO Conference visit abo.org.uk.

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