Team
Peter Smalley is proud to lead the Music and Performing Arts Trust as its Chief Executive. Originally a trumpet player, composer and educator, he came to work in the county in 1993 as Head of Brass, and is still here.
As lead partner of the Northamptonshire and Rutland Music Hub, NMPAT employs over 200 teachers and music facilitators. Here, you will find some members of the leadership and administrative teams, who are based at our site on the Kettering Road, Northampton.
Read Biography
Claire Anderson
Claire is Head of Keyboard and also runs the theory classes at Kettering Road. Her journey with NMPAT began with the County Junior Orchestra in 1983 and she was pleased to return in 2008 as a piano teacher.
Outside of work, Claire can be found on the side of a rugby pitch – either watching the Saints, or one of her sons – or practising some yoga.
Read Biography
John Bickerdike
John has worked within music education in Northamptonshire since 1999, as an instrumental and classroom teacher. He is a graduate of Birmingham Conservatoire, with a BA(Hons) and MA in music performance. Formerly Head of Music at Manor School, Raunds, he assumed the role of Head of Brass at NMPAT in 2022.
John has been a member of Desford Colliery Band since 1995, working with the country’s finest brass players and conductors.
Read Biography
Julie Clark
Julie has been in the administration team since moving to Northampton in 2005, after many years working in the hospitality sector.
She never imagined being with NMPAT for so many years! However, with the challenge of promotion to Office Manager in 2017, and with the evolution of NMPAT and what we offer, not to mention changes to technology, there is never a dull moment.
Outside of work, Julie enjoys village life, which includes long walks with her whippet – and husband!
Read Biography
Rachel Coles
Rachel is here to support the small group teaching and First Access project delivery in schools, she is also the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Champion for the organisation.
Formerly Head of Brass and Head of a Saturday Centre, what she loves most about her job is the opportunity to learn alongside young people as they grow and flourish.
Read Biography
Claire Seymour
Claire has enjoyed a rich and varied career across the UK, which began in Public Relations in Oxford Street, London through to Commercial Banking in Birmingham and setting up a community business called the Busy Parents Network. Claire is now rooted firmly in Finance & Operations here in Northants and is delighted to be appointed to this prestigious role.
Read Biography
Tommy Cundell
Tommy started his journey with NMPAT at Wellingborough Centre and was a member of the County Guitar Ensemble and Tarrega Guitar Ensemble, before completing a year-long administration and finance internship in the NMPAT office.
Read Biography
Anna Denny
Anna raises funds from “other” sources, including securing grants and donations. She has been going to Wellingborough Centre, on and off, since first picking up a violin, aged 7.
After leaving the County Youth Orchestra, at the same time as Malcolm Tyler, in 1992, Anna worked variously in Theatre and with Orchestras, before returning to Northamptonshire, taking on an allotment and a cat, raising two daughters, and becoming Musical Director of the Bozeat Windmill Singers.
Read Biography
John Draper
John is a product of the NMPAT music system having played French Horn in the County Youth Orchestra until he left school. He went on to study Classical Guitar at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. As Head of Guitar, he coordinates the team of guitar and ukulele staff as well as our County Guitar Ensembles.
John’s interests include cycling and playing loud rock music!
Read Biography
Neville Evelyn
Neville joined NMPAT in April 2022 and his role includes overseeing building maintenance and managing site facilities. After training in engineering, Neville has worked in a wide range of industries including beer, spices, UPVC windows, shoes, and now music. He might not say it was his first love, but he does enjoy listening to music in his spare time.
Read Biography
Beth Gifford
Head of Strings and co-director of Zingaresque, Beth (she/her) (BMus hons, PGCEi) studied Viola at the Birmingham Conservatoire, taught for 8 years with Camden Music Service and has a PGCEi in Group Instrumental Teaching as a member of Music Master’s first Musicians of Change cohort.
Beth is passionate about English traditional folk arts, plays in ceilidh bands and delivers workshops and CPD nationally, independently, for The English Folk Dance and Song Society and as an ITP facilitator for Awards for Young Musicians.
Read Biography
Tim Green
Tim graduated from the University of Huddersfield in 1996, with a degree in performance and electro acoustic composition, and joined NMPAT in 2000. He has been lucky enough to lead the Percussion Team in various areas of music education for nearly twenty years and is one of NMPAT’s orchestral conductors.
Tim loves all areas of music with a particular interest in classical and progressive rock.
Read Biography
Jason Jardine
After a long career in IT support, first in the banking sector and then with an ISP, Jason took on the role of Librarian for NMPAT in 2022. He maintains and manages the large resource of music available to County Ensembles and the wider NMPAT community. Jason last played an instrument (alto saxophone and violin) at the age of 14, though he still sings and is a member of the NMPAT Community Choir.
When not acting as a taxi service for his two teenage daughters, Jason enjoys building and painting model kits, and is a keen tabletop wargamer.
Read Biography
Christopher Jeffs
Chris began his musical journey aged 4½ in primary school learning the recorder, before broadening to learning the guitar and french horn in middle school. Joining upper school, Chris changed to playing tuba, with which came the opportunity to play with community brass bands and the Bedfordshire Music Service Youth Concert Band and Youth Orchestra, alongside brass quintets and jazz bands. As his experiences moved to the sub-terranean world of bass clef, his affinity moved his guitar playing to the bass guitar, and introduced bass trombone to his repertoire of instruments.
Read Biography
Daisy Jones
Daisy is a member of the main office team, with a history of playing piano, loves seeing the positive impact NMPAT has on children’s music education.
Having studied BA Hons Fine Art at the University of the West of England in Bristol, and originally hailing from Surrey, she moved to Northampton during the pandemic, and is still exploring all it has to offer! Outside of work you’ll find her at an art gallery, a gig or at the cinema.
Read Biography
Leisa Keightley
Leisa graduated from Hertfordshire Musical Theatre School in 1994 and went on to perform in London, in various fringe productions and shows, before running pubs for 10 years. She is still very active in theatre, performing and volunteering for Sharnbrook Mill Theatre and Bonkers Theatrical in Kettering.
Leisa also volunteers for Models for Heroes, raising awareness of the benefits of model-making on mental health and those with PTSD within the military and Blue Light employees.
Read Biography
Andy Kirkwood
Andy is a clarinettist. He is a member of the woodwind team, working with colleagues to provide lessons on all instruments from the woodwind family to children in schools around the county, as well as delivering whole class projects on recorder and clarinet to children in KS2.
Read Biography
Gina Kirkwood
Gina has been working in the NMPAT Office since August 2018, and before that she did some work delivering whole-class vocal projects for the Trust, across Northamptonshire. Before that, Gina taught music in a variety of schools, and before that she was a full-time classroom teacher!
Gina’s main responsibilities in the office are looking after the administration for Trinity College exams, for individual tuition, for Gordon Robinson Trust Bursaries and for the four wonderful recital teams who travel the length of this county to ensure that its children have the opportunity to listen to a live music performance.
Read Biography
Libby Marsland
Libby’s musical journey began as a chorister at All Saints’ Church, Northampton, where she sang for 15 years and served as Head Girl Chorister. A former NMPAT County Youth Choir member, Libby holds a First-Class degree in Music for Education and Community Practice. Passionate about choral music and musical theatre, she is committed to making music education accessible to all, and empowering every young person to find their voice through music.
Read Biography
Iain McKnight
Iain has oversight of all NMPAT County Ensembles and bespoke projects, including Reach the Stars, Music Therapy and the Trust’s inclusion programme, Industrious.
Iain grew up in Cornwall, where he began his musical journey, aged 11, playing the cornet. Promotion to the tuba soon followed! Following study in Manchester, Iain lived and worked in the North West until relocating to Northamptonshire in September 2022.
In his spare time, he enjoys following cricket and rugby (league… it’s a northern thing) as well as having a keen interest in politics and 20th century history.
Read Biography
Simon Steptoe
Simon started his musical career as a chorister, attending Christ Church Cathedral School in Oxford, as well as learning the piano, French Horn and clarinet. He went on to study Music at Durham University, specialising in composition and electro-acoustic/computer music techniques, receiving a Master of Music degree in 1989.
Over the following 20 years, Simon spent time studying traditional Javanese music performance practice at the Institute of Indonesian Arts in Central Java, delivering Gamelan and creative projects with community groups, schools and colleges in the north of England, teaching music in secondary schools in the UK, and as Executive Director of The Firebird Trust, in Newark.
In 2012, Simon took up his current post with NMPAT and leads on delivering a programme of music projects supporting children and young people in challenging circumstances, who face the most significant barriers to participation. He is also the General Manager for Deep Roots Tall Trees, one of NMPAT’s Music Education Hub Delivery Partners.
Read Biography
Wendy Dawn Thompson
Mezzo-soprano Wendy Dawn Thompson has performed with many of the world’s leading national opera companies, including the Royal Opera House in London, Sydney’s Opera Australia and Portugal’s esteemed Teatro Nacional de São Carlos.
Some recent career highlights include playing Charlotte in ‘Werther’ at Vilnius City Opera, Gwendoline Fairfax in ‘The Importance of being Earnest’ at France’s Opera national de Lorraine and making her theatre debut in the role of Teresa Salieri in ‘Amadeus’ at London’s National Theatre.
Wendy is equally at home on the song recital and concert circuit. Recital appearances have seen her performing at the Wigmore Hall, Aldeburgh Festival, BBC Proms, Edinburgh International Festival and Bridgewater Hall. Wendy was proud to represent New Zealand in the final of the 2005 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition.
Wendy studied singing at Victoria University of Wellington and won New Zealand Young Performer of the Year Award in 1998. She took part in the prestigious Dame Malvina Major Emerging Artist scheme at New Zealand Opera before coming to the UK to complete postgraduate courses at the Royal Northern College of Music and Royal College of Music. In her final year of study, Wendy won the 2003 Kathleen Ferrier Prize.
Supported by:
