Wavendon Allmusic Plan Ltd
A registered charity, founded by Sir John Dankworth and Dame Cleo Laine with a vision to engage the widest range of people with music in all its diversity.
Dame Cleo Laine
Life President
1972 marked the start of Cleo's international activities, with a triumphant first tour of Australia. Shortly afterwards, her career in the United States was launched with a concert at New York's Lincoln Center, followed in 1973 by the first of many Carnegie Hall appearances. Coast-to-coast tours of the U.S. and Canada soon followed, and with them a succession of record albums and television appearances. This led, after several nominations, to Cleo's first Grammy award, in recognition of the live recording of her 1983 Carnegie concert.
Other important recordings during that time were duet albums with Ray Charles ("Porgy and Bess") and Mel Tormé, as well as Arnold Schoenberg's "Pierrot Lunaire" which won Cleo a classical Grammy nomination.
Cleo's relationship with the musical theatre, started in Britain, continued in the United States with starring performances in "A Little Night Music" and "The Merry Widow" (Michigan Opera). In 1985 she originated the role of Princess Puffer in the Broadway hit musical "The Mystery of Edwin Drood", for which she received a Tony nomination, and in 1989 she received the Los Angeles critics' acclaim for her portrayal of the Witch in Stephen Sondheim's "Into the Woods". Los Angeles was also the scene of a Lifetime Achievement Award to Cleo by the US recording industry (1991).
In 1979 Cleo received an OBE from Her Majesty the Queen for services to music, and in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in June 1997 she was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire. She has also been awarded honorary doctorate degrees from Boston's Berklee College of Music in the United States and, in the United Kingdom from Cambridge University, the University of York, the Open University and the University of Luton. In 1998 the Worshipful Company of Musicians awarded her their Silver Medal for a Lifetime Contribution to British Jazz, and the British Jazz Awards have recognised her a number of times, including with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002.
Stephen Clarke
Chairman
Stephen is a founding director of Earth Regeneration Limited, established in early 2010 to provide regeneration, integrated service and property advice.Stephen is also an advisor to Vinci plc and retained on a number of their developments and joint ventures.
From 2000 to 2009 Stephen was a senior director at DTZ and head of the Corporate Finance advisory team.
Stephen is a Trustee and Chairman of the Audit Committee of The Prince’s Regeneration Trust. He is also Chairman of The Stables, one of the UK's leading live music venues.
Stephen is a Chartered Accountant and a fellow of the RSA.
Ian Arthur
Trustee
Ian Arthur was born in 1958 in Monmouthshire, Wales. He attended Monmouth School and then read Classics at Oxford University. He worked as a management consultant for Accenture 1981-2004; was a partner for 10 years; then retired in 2004. He is married with 2 children and his interests include music, golf, history, cooking, and football. He is a Trustee of Wavendon Allmusic Plan Ltd and Director of The Stables Events Ltd, and The Stables Trading Ltd, which he chairs.
Manoj Gupta
Trustee
At the turn of the millenium Manoj took a sabbatical for 1 year to embark on a world tour, making it half way around the world before running out of time!
Returned to launch a dot com in the field of online dating, a business in it's infancy at the time. The business survived the bursting of the dot com bubble and is still trading today; www.nomorefrogs.com
Pursued Independent Consulting with the premise of ‘Bridging Business & IT’. Worked on client programmes in Munich, Stockholm, Texas and the UK over a 3 year timeframe.
Since getting married and starting a family he has re-oriented to a locally based life, balancing home, work and volunteer commitments. He now offers business and IT assistance to clients in and around Bedfordshire, promotes his wife’s musical career (www.poojamusic.com) and sits on the steering committee of a volunteer project called Fusion (www.allsaintsbedford.co.uk). Fusion engages around 70 children in music making and educational activity and recently won a Queen's award for voluntary service.
He is a Trustee of Wavendon Allmusic Plan Ltd, Director of The Stables Events Ltd, and The Stables Trading Ltd, which he chairs.
Graham Inskip
Trustee
Graham Inskip was born in 1954 in Bedford, is married and has 3 children. After being educated at Bedford School, Graham started his career at the family haulage company, AER Inskip Ltd in 1974, arranging transport and assisting with the running of the warehouses. This was followed by 10 years (1975-1985) at Ralston Purina, an American multi-national food ingredients company, in a variety of roles including accounting, office management and warehouse administration finally setting up a seasoning plant with a new warehouse & computer system in Corby.
In 1985 Graham set up his own contract packing company, Graham Lloyd Ltd, with his brother, of which he is Managing Director. During 1989 Graham also took on the role of Financial Director of AER Inskip Ltd up until its sale in 1994.
Graham has had a life long love of and interest in music with leanings towards folk, rock, world and latterly classical music.
In 1985 Graham set up his own contract packing company, Graham Lloyd Ltd, with his brother, of which he is Managing Director. During 1989 Graham also took on the role of Financial Director of AER Inskip Ltd up until its sale in 1994.
Graham has had a life long love of and interest in music with leanings towards folk, rock, world and latterly classical music.
Lady Rima Scott
Trustee
Founder of Bucks Dance, a dance development organisation, former member of various charitable boards including NACRO, Council for Dance Education and Training, Southern Arts Board, Milton Keynes Arts Association, MK Folk Art Festival, and MK Theatre & Gallery Company (Chair of its Theatre Committee). Rima was a Magistrate in Milton Keynes for 26 years, as well as advising at the Citizens Advice Bureau for many years, and Chairman of her local village school for 20 years.
Interests include 12 grandchildren who are scattered over the globe, going to the theatre in MK, London and Stratford, tennis, bridge, Pilates and books.
Michael Shelton
Trustee
Michael Shelton was admitted as a solicitor in 1976, appointed Deputy District Judge in 1993 and in the same year admitted to membership of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. His trusteeships and directorships of charitable organisations are considerable and include:
1981 Trustee, Fairoak Festival, Rogate, Hants
1994-1999 Trustee, Bud Flanagan Leukaemia Fund
1979-2001 Trustee, Wavendon Allmusic Plan Ltd, including 2 years as chair, 1984/5. Re-appointed 2005 to date.
1990-1999 Director, The Young Vic Company
1978-2001 Trustee, London Music Hall Trust Ltd, including 2 years as chair
1979 to date, Director, National Youth Jazz Orchestra
1981 to date, Trustee, National Youth Jazz Association
1996 to date, Trustee, Jazz Development Trust (chair since 2004)
2003 to 2005, Delegate, World Dance Council
2003 to date, Trustee, The Old Sessions House Trust
2007 to date, Secretary–General, International Professional Dance Sport Council
Other directorships:-
Sylvia Young Theatre School Ltd
Sylvia Young Ltd
Rossmore Personal Management Ltd
Ceroc Enterprises Ltd
Ceroc Holdings Ltd
Ceroc Dance Training Ltd
1981 Trustee, Fairoak Festival, Rogate, Hants
1994-1999 Trustee, Bud Flanagan Leukaemia Fund
1979-2001 Trustee, Wavendon Allmusic Plan Ltd, including 2 years as chair, 1984/5. Re-appointed 2005 to date.
1990-1999 Director, The Young Vic Company
1978-2001 Trustee, London Music Hall Trust Ltd, including 2 years as chair
1979 to date, Director, National Youth Jazz Orchestra
1981 to date, Trustee, National Youth Jazz Association
1996 to date, Trustee, Jazz Development Trust (chair since 2004)
2003 to 2005, Delegate, World Dance Council
2003 to date, Trustee, The Old Sessions House Trust
2007 to date, Secretary–General, International Professional Dance Sport Council
Other directorships:-
Sylvia Young Theatre School Ltd
Sylvia Young Ltd
Rossmore Personal Management Ltd
Ceroc Enterprises Ltd
Ceroc Holdings Ltd
Ceroc Dance Training Ltd
Bill Blyth
Company Secretary
After working in Canada and Manchester with KPMG joined Grant Thornton in 1978 and became a partner in 1981.
Spent rest of accountancy career in Milton Keynes office advising SME’s and not for profit organisations.
Treasurer of Milton Keynes Relate for 14 years
Audit partner for Willen Hospice, International Youth Hostel Federation, English Hockey association, Hearing Aid Council and the Milton Keynes Community Foundation.
Was a trustee at the Stables from 1998 until 2006.
Interests are golf, hill walking and playing the piano accordion.
Rod Argent
Trustee
In 1969, Rod formed "Argent", which was also to achieve international success - notably with the hits "Hold Your Head Up" and "God Gave Rock and Roll To You", and he continued to enjoy a reputation as one of the finest keyboard players of the genre.
After 'Argent' split, Rod appeared as a keyboard player on countless records, with artists as diverse as 'The Who', John Dankworth, Cleo Laine, Colin Blunstone, Gary Moore and Andrew Lloyd Webber. He also wrote and scored much music for television films and major series, as well as producing several million selling albums for other artists, including Tanita Tikaram, Joshua Kadison and Nanci Griffiths. In the late '90s, he recorded a solo piano album of classical repertoire, "Rod Argent - Classically speaking".
In 2000, Rod reunited with Colin Blunstone, original singer with the Zombies, and has since toured extensively all over the world. Their recent premiere of "Odessy and Oracle" (40 years after the recording!) at The Shepherd's Bush Empire received ecstatic 5 star reviews in several national newspapers, including The Guardian, The Times, The Scotsman and The Independent.
Ann Limb
Trustee
A founding Board member and former Group Chief Executive of the University for Industry, Ann has since 2005, worked primarily in the private sector as a Non-Executive Director on the boards of DRS plc, Entrepreneurs in Action, Briteyellow Ltd, Skills2Learn and Institute of Directors. She also holds a number of public appointments, serving as Chair of Milton Keynes Partnership and a Non-Executive Director of HMGCC and Milton Keynes Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
Ann undertakes a significant amount of voluntary and charitable work. She has founded two national charities – the Network for Women Managers in further education (now the Women Leaders Network) and the Helena Kennedy Foundation, which she continues to chair. She is also Chair of the National Council of Faiths and Beliefs and the Anne Frank Trust. From 1996-2010, Ann was Chair of the National Extension College, Cambridge and led its successful merger with Learning & Skills Network.
A former Principal and Chief Executive of Milton Keynes and Cambridge Regional colleges, Ann continues to work in education as a visiting scholar at the University of Cambridge Lucy Cavendish College and as honorary Professor in Leadership at the University of West London.
Active in her local community, Ann is Chair of MK 2018, Milton Keynes successful campaign to become a host city for the FIFA World Cup Milton, a school governor of Milton Keynes Academy, Chair of Destination Milton Keynes and Milton Keynes Arts for Health and a Trustee of the Stables.
Alec Dankworth
Trustee
David Dean
Trustee and Chairman of Group Finance Committee
Born in Plymouth in 1945 and educated at Tiverton Grammar School in Devon.
Lives near Aylesbury. Married with 3 children and now 5 grandchildren.Had a full career with Natwest Bank until 2003 and became an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in 1973. Varied career culminating in 15 years as a Corporate Manager in Milton Keynes looking after medium and large businesses for the Bank.
Since 2003 has been a self employed business consultant, working with SME businesses to raise finance, resolve funding and banking issues and generally provide experienced support. Current clients range from small businesses to Groups up to £50m turnover.
Lifetime interest in music especially rock music and keen follower of football, cricket, rugby and golf.
The Stables Café in2. Click picture above for more information. The new menu is now online for the January 2012 Winter season!
