Birmingham Contemporary Music Group has a driven board of trustees from all sectors. They are responsible for the governance of BCMG, strategy, and monitoring performance.

Chair

Paula Whitehouse

Paula Whitehouse is Professor of Practice in Business Growth and Innovation at Aston University.  As Director of the Aston Centre for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, Paula leads the development of business start-up and growth programmes for entrepreneurs, drawing on the best of academic research and teaching and working alongside partners in government and the private sector. Paula’s curriculum leadership for practical entrepreneurial growth programmes has benefited thousands of small business leaders through the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses UK programme and 10,000 Women programme in India, the UK Government’s Help to Grow: Management Course delivered throughout the UK by Small Business Charter accredited business schools, and the Aston Centre for Growth.  

Prior to her university role, Paula had a career in the arts, working for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Birmingham Contemporary Music Group amongst others, and running her own consultancy specialising in fundraising, audience development and evaluation.  Paula is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a Fellow of the Chartered Association of Business Schools, a Trustee of Ex Cathedra, a Fellow of the RSA, and a member of the West Midlands Co-Investment Fund Advisory Committee.

Deputy Chair

William Barry

After graduating in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge, Bill practised as a solicitor, specialising in commercial litigation. He became a tribunal judge in 1994, with a particular interest in Human Rights Act cases. He retired in 2016. He has always taken a keen interest in the arts, in particular music and theatre, and has been involved in theatre administration. As a performer, he has engaged with a wide range of music, in genres from classical lieder to Scandinavian Death Metal. He has recently taken part in a Country music tour, with a young singer/songwriter from Nashville. 

Board

Tony Jackson - Honorary Treasurer

During Tony’s career as a Chartered Accountant tax specialist partner with PwC and other accountancy firms he advised many charities on their tax affairs. He continues to play an active role with the Chartered Institute of Taxation providing his support and expertise as a moderator for the Advanced Diploma in International Tax examinations. Tony has always been an enthusiastic supporter of the Arts in Birmingham and joined the board of BCMG in December 2018 with a particular focus on financial matters. Previously he has been a trustee of Ex Cathedra and Birmingham Opera Company and is currently a trustee of the John Feeney Charitable Trust.

Ruth Hopkins

Ruth studied Music and an Executive MBA at Oxford University. As founding director of K’antu Ensemble, she performs internationally, has broadcast on TV and Radio, and enjoys collaborations with dancers and actors for multimedia and site-specific historical performances for heritage events. She is passionate about increasing accessibility to classical music, exploring innovative approaches to concert curation during her residency at the BANFF Centre (Canada) and receiving the Live Music Now Fellowship for her work in special educational needs and disability settings. Most recently she has been Artistic Director for ‘All Roads Lead to Alexander’: Birmingham 2022 Festival’s 3-year disability outreach programme for the Commonwealth Games,  ‘Reimagining the Firs’ with the National Trust and ‘Music from Home’ for Transforming Narratives.

Sophia Johnson

Sophia is a Systems Support Engineer in the Civil Service, skilled in technologies such as JavaScript, Python, and AWS. This represents a new career path for her, as her previous roles were primarily in the Arts. From 2017 to 2018, she served as an Engagement Coordinator at a Music and Arts Development Agency, and from 2018 to 2021, she worked as a Diversity and Music Relationship Manager at The Arts Council England. Additionally, she is proficient in multiple instruments and has showcased her talent in singing and dancing across the Midlands - her passion for the arts is undeniable.

Nike Jonah

Nike works in strategic development across the cultural and creative industries worldwide. In July 2018, she launched Pan African Creative Exchange (PACE) in South Africa. In August 2020 the second edition, PACE Entangled, took place online. Between 2017 and 2020 she was a Visiting Research Fellow at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama which led into her current research topic of Pan-African Performance Networks. Between 2008 and 2012, she led Arts Council England’s Decibel Programme, designed to support African, Asian and Caribbean artists. Nike is a Trustee on Boards of The Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and The Royal Africa Society.

Gary Spruce

Gary has been a board member of BCMG since 2019. His particular focus is on supporting BCMG’s outreach and educational work. Gary is a graduate of the Universities of London and Birmingham and is an honorary member of Trinity College, London. He began his career as a secondary school music teacher in Birmingham,  moving in 1996  to develop and lead the Open University’s innovative teacher training course. He is now a visiting lecturer in music education at Birmingham City University. His is widely published on various aspects of music education including the links between social justice and music education. He is head of music at the Crescent Theatre in Birmingham.

Blair Winton

Blair is a partner and portfolio manager at Evelyn Partners. At Evelyn Partners Blair manages a team that is responsible for the ongoing management of approximately £1bn of invested assets for clients of the Birmingham office, including portfolios for trusts, charities, pensions, and private individuals. Blair is also a member of the Collectives Investment Group which is responsible for the oversight of the group’s security selection decisions. He is a CFA Charterholder and holds the CFA UK Certificate in ESG Investing and the CISI Masters in Wealth Management. After graduating from the University of Nottingham with a music degree in 2007 he began his career with Citigroup in New York before joining Deutsche Bank’s UK wealth management division in Birmingham. Blair has been a trustee since 2013.

Musician Representatives

Anthony Howe

Melinda Maxwell