Dr. Jill White FRAM FBSM HonRCM HonDMus(Bristol)

Dr of Music Jill White has an international reputation as one of the UK's leading experts in the field of classical music.  Jill's career has encompassed opera - she was a singer in UK and Vienna; music production - for 23 years she was a Senior BBC Music Producer for Radio Three with more than 2000 programmes to her credit; she has produced high profile BBC programmes across 27 UK counties, working with the likes of Rostropovich, Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Colin Davis, Sir Roger Norrington at one end of the scale to nurturing young talent who have since become international and household names, such as Natalie Clein, Angela Hewitt, Wayne Marshall, David Owen Norris, Roger Vignoles, Guy Johnston et al. Furthermore, although Jill left the BBC in 1993, the award winning BBC Radio Three programme 'In Tune', was actually launched by her.

As the Director of Music, for almost ten years, of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain - the world's foremost youth orchestra - Jill annually auditioned over 600 of the UK's most gifted young musicians, introduced science, literature and the visual arts to the teaching programme of the orchestra, pioneered their Creative programme and instigated a Composers' Class.  Jill also musically planned and produced their 50th Anniversary tour of Europe conducted by Sir John Eliot-Gardiner and both she and the orchestra contributed to the 100th birthday celebrations of HM, the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother who was the NYO's Royal Patron. In addition, with her BBC career expertise she ensured that each music course programme would be broadcast by BBC Radio Three, which hitherto had not been the case.

As the Artistic Director of the Bournemouth International Arts Festival, Jill included a science strand because she fervently believes that music is connected to all disciplines.  Jill is the Founding Chair of Talent Roku, a Czech/Slovak Music Competition which she modelled on the BBC Young Musician Competition with whose launch in 1978 she had been significantly involved.

Jill has several times been voted a Woman of the Year, is a Freeman of the City of London, a member of the Worshipful Company of Musicians, and an Honorary Member of the Polish Composers' Union. She has served as a Governor at both the Dartington College of Arts and Bath College of Higher Education (now part of the University of Bath) is President of several Music Societies across the South and West, is the Founding President of Music Box, a Children's Opera Company based in Bristol, where she has lived since 1986.  In 2003 Jill became the proud recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Music Degree from the University of Bristol - an honour offered to very few, amongst whom are Ralph Vaughan Williams and Sir Michael Tippett!

In Jill's hands classical music is not a stuffy, 'for the few' option but rather a 'life enhancing' opportunity for everyone.