Mel Grodner and Vanessa Reed have been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic following the company’s AGM on 7 November 2016.

They will contribute to a powerful team of directors, led by Chairman, Professor Nigel Weatherill, that will drive Liverpool Philharmonic’s vision to be a world-class music performance and learning organisation, promoting the love of music-making.

Mel Grodner was born and bred in Liverpool. He was educated both locally and at boarding school, and subsequently studied Architecture. Mel founded a successful property group, still based in Liverpool, in the early 1970s. He no longer has day-to-day involvement in the company which allows more time to follow his interest in music, the arts and especially Liverpool Philharmonic which he has supported and attended for many years. He has offered generous support to the organisation in recent years, including to the transformative music programme in Everton, In Harmony Liverpool .

Vanessa Reed is Chief Executive of the PRS for Music Foundation. Since joining in 2008, Vanessa has repositioned the Foundation as the UK’s most pioneering and effective funder of new music and talent development, significantly increasing resources for the music industry and launching a diverse range of new initiatives which respond to the needs of composers and songwriters of all backgrounds. Recent initiatives led by Vanessa include Momentum – the ground-breaking talent development fund for artists working in pop music (in partnership with Arts Council England and Spotify), Women Make Music which responds to the low % of women taking up music as a career and Resonate which encourages orchestras to programme into their repertoire the best pieces of British music from the past 25 years. In 2010, Vanessa was named as one of fifty ‘Women to Watch’ by the Cultural Leadership Programme.

Full biographies in Notes to Editors

Commenting on the new Board appointments, Chairman Professor Nigel Weatherill DL, Dsc, FREng, FRSA said: “Mel and Vanessa’s appointments are tremendous news for Liverpool Philharmonic, and for the City too. As one of Liverpool’s flag-ship organisations it is vital that we are able to attract expert and enterprising individuals who will provide the dynamic leadership that will ensure that Liverpool Philharmonic continues to play our part in the life of our great city, making it a great place to live, study, work and invest in.’

On joining Liverpool Philharmonic’s Board of Directors, Mel Grodner said: ‘Liverpool Philharmonic has given my family and I great pleasure over many years through the wonderful music-making of the Orchestra. I’ve also come to find out more about the outstanding learning programme that brings music-making of the highest quality to people of all ages and from all walks of life in our city. I’m delighted to be joining the Board and working with the Chairman and my fellow Directors in providing guidance and support to ensure Liverpool Philharmonic’s continued success.’

Vanessa Reed said: ‘I'm delighted to be joining the Board of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. My dad studied at Liverpool University and my husband is from the city so I've always had a strong connection with Liverpool. Through my role at PRS for Music Foundation, I've also been aware of the contribution Liverpool Philharmonic makes to the city through its award-winning learning programmes, Orchestra and year-long live music programme. That's why I'm looking forward to supporting this world class organisation and helping it go from strength to strength in the coming years.’

NOTES TO EDITORS

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Board of Directors

Prof Nigel Weatherill DL, Dsc, FREng, FRSA Chairman
Jon Corner
Mel Grodner
Dr Tony Harvey FRSA Company Secretary
Alexander Holladay
David Nicholls
Vanessa Reed
Martin Richardson

Cllr Wendy Simon

New Board Appointments – Biographies

Mel Grodner
Mel Grodner was born and bred in Liverpool. He was educated both locally and at boarding school, and subsequently studied Architecture. Mel founded a successful property group, still based in Liverpool, in the early 1970s. He no longer has day to day day involvement in the company which allows more time to follow his interest in music, the arts and especially Liverpool Philharmonic which he has supported and attended for many years. He has offered generous support in recent years, including to the transformative music programme in Everton, In Harmony Liverpool.

Vanessa Reed
Vanessa Reed is Chief Executive of the PRS for Music Foundation. Since joining in 2008, Vanessa has repositioned the Foundation as the UK’s most pioneering and effective funder of new music and talent development, significantly increasing resources for the music industry and launching a diverse range of new initiatives which respond to the needs of composers and songwriters of all backgrounds. Recent initiatives led by Vanessa include Momentum – the ground-breaking talent development fund for artists working in pop music (in partnership with Arts Council England and Spotify), Women Make Music which responds to the low % of women taking up music as a career and Resonate which encourages orchestras to programme into their repertoire the best pieces of British music from the past 25 years.

Before joining PRS for Music Foundation, Vanessa worked as an independent arts consultant with ABL where she specialised in cultural policy and strategic planning across the UK. This included developing a cultural strategy for Liverpool City Council following European Capital of Culture in 2008 and undertaking an organisation review for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Before that, Vanessa worked as Grants Manager at the European Cultural Foundation (Amsterdam), undertook a placement at the Education and Culture Directorate of the European Commission (Brussels) and led a concert series and supported unpublished composers at the British Music Information Centre (London). Vanessa has a double first BA Honours degree in Music and French from Southampton University and a Trinity Performance Diploma in Clarinet.

In 2010, Vanessa was named as one of fifty ‘Women to Watch’ by the Cultural Leadership Programme. In 2012, Vanessa accepted the best festival/concert series award from the Royal Philharmonic Society for PRS for Music Foundation’s New Music 20x12 Cultural Olympiad programme. In October 2016 Vanessa won the music category of the Hospital Club’s 100 awards for the UK’s most influential creatives.

Vanessa is Chair of SoundUK Arts and a Board member of Protein Dance.
@vanessa_prsf
www.prsformusicfoundation.com

Further information from:
Jayne Garrity, Head of Communications, Liverpool Philharmonic
0151 210 3791/07967 364241
jayne.garrity@liverpoolphil.com