On Monday the 21st of June 2021, ELECTRIC VOICE THEATRE became a CIO (Reg. Charity No:1194881) and were lucky enough to have with us this very distinguished board of Trustees whose commitment and advice has been invaluable both to us achieving this status and to making decisions about our future development. Siân Ede (Chair June 2021 – Oct 2022),  Prof Nicholas Till (current Chair), Dr Bergit Arends and Segun Lee-French – Find out more about them here

Sian is standing among sapling trees holding onto a branch, wearing light grey summer clothes with a cloth hat and a bright pink scarf with a shoulder strap for a bag.
Sian is standing among sapling trees holding onto a branch, wearing light grey summer clothes with a cloth hat and a bright pink scarf with a shoulder strap for a bag.
Bergit is dessed in a camel coloured jacket which is open showing a dark orange jumper, she is leaning on an orange wall outside a building which is surrounded by trees, paths and some old buildings
Bergit is dessed in a camel coloured jacket which is open showing a dark orange jumper, she is leaning on an orange wall outside a building which is surrounded by trees, paths and some old buildings
This is a head shot of Segun who has a short beard and moustache
This is a head shot of Segun who has a short beard and moustache

BUT!

On Thursday 20th October, at our meeting held in the very welcoming Hilldrop Community Centre in North London (and on zoom), we were very honoured to welcome two new trustees – palaeontologist Emma Bernard  and composer Cheryl Frances-Hoad  – who are equally distinguished in their fields. They have both been closely involved in our work over the last few years and their breadth of knowledge, both of their particular subjects and of the way EVT projects are carried out, will be invaluable. You’ll find more about them on our Trustees page here  

At the same time we were saddened to lose our first Chair, Siân Ede, who retired from the board. The CIO has only been functioning for just over a year, but Siân has been a guiding light to EVT for well over 10 years, providing the initial impetus for our Minerva Scientifica Project which began in earnest in 2015, connecting women composers to women scientists. We made a presentation of flowers and some of the music and podcasts she has inspired and supported and, after a few toasts, the evening ended with some great food supplied by a fabulous local veggie/vegan caterer.

Members of the Board sit at tables strewn with papers and water mugs with Frances & Herbie standing behind Sian as she holds up her presentation CD. She has a bouquet of flowers in front of her too.

CIO Board present retiring Chair Siân Ede with tokens of their thanks. (L to R, Cathy Lynch, Prof Nicholas Till, Herbie Clarke, Siân Ede, Frances M Lynch and Emma Bernard. The photo was taken by Dr Bergit Arends

Frances writes:

I first met Siân when she was Arts Director at the Gulbenkian Foundation’s UK Branch where she pioneered their Art and Science programme. I was touring as a soloist with Sond’Ar-te Electric Ensemble performing work which involved me making various animal and bird sounds – which it turned out was exactly what she was looking for to liven up an upcoming workshop at the foundation!
I subsequently read her book Art and Science  (see picture) and plucked up the courage to ask for her help for my own Art/Sci initiative.

It wasn’t long before she had us ensconced at Kings College London on a huge project involving 4 women composers, 4 women scientists and 4 singers centred around Rosalind Franklin, and from there the Minerva Scientifica project has gone from strength to strength with constant support, help, encouragement and steady guidance from Siân.

Siân Ede was a wonderfully hard working Chair, but her place has been taken by the equally efficient Professor Nicholas Till, so we are in good hands – and Siân did make it clear she was there anytime we needed her!

A huge thanks to all of our brilliant trustees for everything they do for us. Here’s to new projects and collaborations in the coming years, and most importantly to finding and promoting many more brilliant UK women composers & scientists.