I am now officially retired from a long, varied and fulfilling career in arts and heritage management, but continue to be busy as a musician, jewellery designer and maker, and as a volunteer in my community.

I was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 1990 in the category of Children's Choir Training, and travelled widely across Hungary, Finland, Belgium and Germany. As Administrator of the British Federation of Young Choirs (BFYC), I looked in depth at the national support infrastructure for youth singing in education and informal settings in those countries, and made many wonderful contacts.

The most important outcomes of my Fellowship were achieved over the following decade through BFYC. These included the introduction of a choral animateur scheme that was implemented across 26 local education authorities (LEAs); the setting up of national youth choirs in Northern Ireland and Scotland; the development of training courses and resources; and organising the first international study tour for choral conductors in 1994. The benefits of networking, collaboration and partnership that I gained through my Fellowship became the cornerstone of all my work, professional and volunteering, after I left BFYC in 1999.