JPN is delighted to announce that Ros Rigby has been elected by its Board of Trustees as the new Chair of JPN. Ros is the founder of the folk development agency Folkworks and worked as Performance Programme Director for Sage Gateshead where she launched the first-ever Gateshead International Jazz Festival, which ran for fourteen successful editions.

 

In addition to her involvement with JPN, Ros was President of EJN for four years and currently sits on a number of boards in the North East of England and Scotland. Since stepping down from her role at Sage Gateshead, she has worked as an independent consultant and programmer. Ros has long been a supporter of JPN and the charity says it is thrilled to have her at the helm!

Orphy Robinson will also be stepping into a more senior position on the board as Vice-Chair, drawing on his award-winning career to help steer JPN through an exciting phase of development. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Orphy has played or been featured on over 100 recordings.

He was a founding member of the ground-breaking 1980s big band 'The Jazz Warriors' and played with the break-through saxophonist Courtney Pine. As a solo artist, Orphy has released a string of acclaimed albums, including two records on Blue Note. Orphy sits on various Boards including the Ivor’s Academy where he is both a Trustee and the Chair of the Jazz Genre Committee. He is also a Trustee and Vice-Chair of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra.