Dr Samuel White is a Lecturer in Law at the University of the West of Scotland, he has a passion for education and for improving access to music and culture. 

Born and brought up in Ireland, he studied law at the University of Dundee after which he worked in risk and compliance in the financial sector. He returned to the University of Dundee to study for a PhD in human rights law, funded by the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland. 

Samuel teaches and researches a wide variety of subjects, and his current projects focus on human rights and the legal protection of cultural heritage. He frequently publishes in these areas and speaks about these issues internationally. 

A long-standing lover of music, Samuel is a (very) amateur trumpeter and bass singer and has played and sung in a number of groups of various sizes and varieties.  He looks forward to combining this love of music with his professional skills for the benefit of NYOS.

Alistair is a Chartered Accountant, a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Originally from Glasgow, now based mainly in St Andrews. He has extensive financial management experience gained in a broad range of sectors including manufacturing, construction, IT and charitable organisations. His career includes a spell as interim Director of Finance and Corporate Services for the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and he has recently completed two terms as a non-executive director of The Scottish Music Centre.

A lifelong lover of music, Alistair is a keen and regular concert-goer across a range of genres. In other leisure pursuits, he is regularly challenged by a game of golf and also enjoys hillwalking. With children now grown up, family life is centred around Harry, a ten year old westie, and Poppy, a nine year old cocker spaniel.

Francis Cummings was born in Scotland and studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the Royal Northern College of Music and later completed a post-graduate degree at the University of Leeds. As a founding member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, he has worked extensively with some of the most eminent conductors and soloists of our generation appearing in festivals throughout Europe, Japan, Australia, and the USA. In the UK he has worked regularly with a number of UK orchestras often as a guest principal and was a member of the Goldberg Ensemble, a group that latterly specialised in contemporary music.

A passionate and committed educator, Francis has held teaching posts at the University of Huddersfield, Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

He was Director of Music at St Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh before taking up post as Director of Music for Sistema Scotland where he designed and shaped the curriculum and was instrumental in the founding of children’s orchestras in four Scottish cities.

In Summer 2018 Francis took up the post of Head of Junior Conservatoire at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland but continues teaching commitments at St Mary’s Music School.

Francis is also an NYOS Alumnus, performing as Leader of the inaugural Orchestra back in 1979. He is delighted to serve as an NYOS Board and proud to continue his association with the organisation.

Caroline Dooley has been Director of Marketing and Communications at Scottish Opera since 2019, where, in addition to leading the marketing, communication and design teams, she is also responsible for external relations, particularly with key funders. She has been instrumental in shaping the organisation’s pandemic response and digital transformation.

She has of 11 years of experience in arts marketing, and before that worked in the commercial music industry for 12 years. Before joining Scottish Opera, she held the same title at the Scottish Chamber Orchestra from 2013, managing all aspects of promotion for around 90 -events per year. She previously worked in the high-end audio industry as Label Manager for Linn Records and Marketing Manager for Linn Products. Under her leadership, Linn released the world’s first studio master downloads website free of digital rights management, culminating in winning Gramophone Magazine Label of the Year in 2010.

Caroline studied Music at the University of Edinburgh, followed by a Master of Business Association at Open University. She then worked as a freelance musician and in music retail before joining Linn. She is interested in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, particularly in widening awareness of opportunities in the performing arts for young people, and has many fond memories of playing violin and touring with various youth orchestras when growing up in Copenhagen.

Ken Fairbrother is the elected Student Union President and Student Governor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) and is keen to shape the arts for the next generation. Ken is also a trustee of the HarrisonParrott Foundation, the charitable arm of the international music agency, HarrisonParrott. During his performance degree in violin at the RCS, Ken worked with national performing art organisations on stage and behind the scenes, and with music outreach programmes. Ken has been a member of the NYOS family having spent his youth participating in the classical orchestras as well as the NYOS Jazz Summer School. A recipient of diversity opportunities, Ken looks to use his knowledge, enthusiasm and commitment to improve opportunities that make the arts more inclusive to under-represented groups.

Kenneth is a solicitor in the insurance industry and an alumnus of the NYOS viola section, with whom he enjoyed tours of the UK, the Netherlands, Poland and Germany.  Having grown up and studied in Glasgow, he spent ten years in private practice firms there and in Edinburgh before moving to London, where he works in a professional and executive risk brokerage in the City.

He has been involved in trustee and committee roles at various bodies including Live Music Now Scotland, the Law Society of Scotland, the WS Society and St Mary’s Catholic Cathedral, Edinburgh.  He hopes to bring to the board of NYOS not only the budgetary and risk mindset of a commercial lawyer but also an enthusiasm for the arts and their availability to young people, and a loyalty to an organisation which was so important to him in his formative years.

Adam Lee is a Scottish clarinettist, soloist, teacher, and composer. He is the Principal Clarinet No. 2 of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

His hugely varied career and education has seen him perform with many major UK orchestras and opera companies, appear as a recitalist in venues across the country, and perform a wide range of concertos, from early classics like Weber through to more contemporary works by Helen Grime and James MacMillan.

Adam is an alumnus of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (2021) and the Royal College of Music (2023).  He graduated from the RCS with a first-class BMus Performance degree and The Principal’s Prize for Excellence, having studied with John Cushing, Tim Orpen, Heather Nicoll, and Joe Pacewicz. Upon graduating from the RCM, he gained a Master of Performance with Distinction and the prestigious Tagore Gold Medal after his studies with Timothy Lines, Richard Hosford, Peter Sparks, Barnaby Robson & Bob Hill.
 
Alongside his performance career, Adam maintains other interests in composing, education, and arts advocacy. He is an award-winning composer, an Ambassador for the RCS Woodwind Department and is a passionate advocate of youth music in Scotland and widening access to music education. Having come through the youth music system in Scotland, and as a recent NYOS alumnus, he is acutely aware of the challenges and barriers that young musicians face.

Adam is delighted to be committedly supporting Scotland’s young musicians through his position on the NYOS Board.

Roger Wilson has many years of experience on both sides of the stage as musician, educator, tour manager and administrator. Conservatoire trained, he has worked extensively in the commercial, jazz and classical sector with a wide range of artists from Lesley Garett and Bryn Terfel to James Brown and Quincey Jones. He has also played in some of London’s most successful music theatre productions. 

As an instrumental teacher and lecturer, Roger has worked throughout the UK music education sector at all levels. In recent years, he has been dedicated in his support for the professional development of aspiring young jazz musicians.