Volunteer Chair of Trustees

What will you be doing?

The Ina Boyle Society was set up in the UK in 2020 to champion the music of Ina Boyle and of other neglected Irish composers, particularly women, whose music deserves to be heard more widely. With the Founder of the IBS and its current chair, Katie Rowan, due to step down in June 2024, we are seeking to appoint a suitably experienced successor to lead the work of the IBS in encouraging and sustaining the growing interest in Ina Boyle's life and music, both in the UK and internationally. We are looking for someone who is passionate about promoting the voices of unjustly neglected Irish women composers, who is an excellent leader and collaborator, and who can commit the time to be the public face of the Society, and to drive the charity forward to realise its potential and enhance its impact. The Chair will work closely with the Board of Trustees and the Administrator to provide clear leadership and direction to the Society. The role would be particularly suitable for someone with a background in organisational leadership, especially in the not-for-profit sector, and who is interested in British and Irish classical music. For further information about Ina Boyle and the work and governance of the Society, please read the accompanying note about the work of the IBS and visit the IBS website at www.inaboyle.org.

What are we looking for?

Key Responsibilities of the Chair: 

Providing leadership and clear direction to the IBS, ensuring that the Board operates effectively, and that the organisation meets its statutory and regulatory responsibilities. Being the IBS’ leading ambassador and advocate, building on its existing relationships and networks, and further raising awareness of Ina Boyle’s music and the work of the IBS. Coordinating the activities of the IBS, and working closely and constructively with the other Trustees, the Administrator, and with IBS’ external partners, to secure the resources necessary to achieve its ambitions meet its obligations.

Required Skills, Knowledge, and Experience: Essential

Experience of organisational leadership, and of chairing boards or committees, ideally in the charitable or not-for-profit sectors. The proven ability to forge and build relationships with partners, peers and other key organisations and networks. An appreciation of the extent to which the music of Irish and other women composers has been systematically overlooked and neglected.

Desirable

An understanding of governance in charitable organisations and of the funding and regulatory environment in which they operate. Experience of raising philanthropic and charitable funds. Familiarity with the work of the key institutions, performers, media and funders in the UK and Irish classical music sectors.

What difference will you make?

Over the two years 2024-26, the new Chair of IBSL will continue to develop its role as a leading authority on the life and music of Ina Boyle, with a focus on strengthening its organisational and financial capacity to respond to the growing interest in, and opportunities for the performance and broadcast of, the music of Ina Boyle and other Irish women composers. The IBSL has rapidly become a unique focal point for interest in the music and life of Ina Boyle and is widely recognised and appreciated for its championing of Ina’s musical legacy. The Society has an exclusive relationship with Ina Boyle’s family, which holds the copyright to her music, as well as has strong, long established, connections to the Irish and UK classical music and academic worlds that enable the promotion of IB’s music and the facilitation of performances and recordings. These opportunities include the recent release of new recordings of Ina Boyles’ songs by Roderick Williams and the Halle Orchestra, and of her String Quartet by the Piatti String Quartet; the Spanish premiere of her orchestral work ‘Sea Poem’ by the Orquesta Sinfonica de Castilla y Leon in October 2023; the forthcoming publication of the score of Ina Boyle’s opera ‘Maudlin of Papplewick’ and the further realisation and performance of her unpublished choral music by George Parris and the Carice Singers. The IBS other priorities include developing a dedicated annual bursary programme to support the work of young Irish women composers and a series of online seminars about the music of Ina Boyle, and others, featuring leading performers and academics who have specialised in performing and researching Ina’s music.