Who we are

FORMER CHAIR / TRUSTEE

The Countess of Sandwich, Caroline Montagu has been involved with Saudi Arabia for 30 years, first as a business and financial writer and more recently studying civil society in Saudi Arabia, women’s issues, social services and the domestic NGO sector. Her most recent publication is a research report for Chatham House on aspects of Saudi civil society; among many others are a report for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the Saudi NGOs and a paper for the Middle East Journal. She has been a Research Associate of the SOAS’ London Middle East Institute, a committee member of the Saudi British Society, on the Saudi British Joint Business Council and an honorary member of the Middle East Association.

CHAIR / TRUSTEE

Wissam Boustany is an internationally renowned flautist, conductor, teacher. He is currently President of the British Flute Society, chairman of PalMusic UK, is President of the British Flute Society, Patron of Musicians for Peace and Disarmament and Patron of the British Susuki Music Association. In 1995 Wissam founded Towards Humanity, using music as a catalyst to support humanitarian projects. In 1997 he was awarded a knighthood in Lebanon in recognition of his music and humanitarian work. In 1998 he received the Crystal Award at the World Economic Forum. Wissam’s recent interest in conducting led to the launch the Pro Youth Philharmonia in 2018, a professional training orchestra for emerging musicians, which wound down during the pandemic. Wissam continues to inspire and engage countless music lovers through his ‘Inner Journeys’ rehearsal/performance concept, based on his teaching which has become known as his ‘Method Called Love’.

TRUSTEE / PATRON

John Cope is a Chartered Accountant born in 1937. He was a Conservative MP from 1974 to 1997. From 1979 to 1994 he held various ministerial offices in the Governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, latterly as Paymaster General at the Treasury. He was appointed to the House of Lords in 1979 and was later Conservative Chief Whip there. He retired from the House in 2020. He has a long interest in Palestine where his wife was born. He helped to found PalMusic UK and is now a Patron and Trustee.

TRUSTEE

After studying in Lebanon and at Columbia University in New York, Lena Saleh started her professional career in teacher education with UNRWA in Nablus and Ramallah. She has also served as Director in Special Needs Education in Lebanon and as consultant to the Ministry of Labour and Social Development in Jordan for two years. Lena joined UNESCO Headquarters in Paris from 1979 to 1999 as Senior Education Specialist, Head of Inclusive Education, before she moved to Palestine to work with the ESNCM as Deputy Director for Activities and PR.

TRUSTEE

Usama Tuqan is a retired Senior Partner of Deloitte & Touche in the Middle East and he was responsible for the offices in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar. He has also served as Director of Banking Industry in the firm.

TRUSTEE

William joined the Board of Trustees of PalMusic UK as Treasurer in March 2024. He also holds the position of Company Secretary. He is a Chartered Accountant and works for a private debt investment fund in London. Prior to this he worked in the Audit & Assurance department of Forvis Mazars (2021-2024), focused on UK mid-market businesses in construction, pharmaceuticals and real estate. He has an MEng in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Birmingham.

TRUSTEE
John Harte has been Chief Executive at Aurora Orchestra since 2009. During that time Aurora has established itself as one of the most innovative forces in classical music, combining world-class performance with a distinctively creative approach to concert presentation and a vibrant educational programme.  Prior to his role with Aurora John completed a doctorate in History at SOAS focused on education in Palestine under British rule, and worked as a researcher at the Council for British Research in the Levant in Amman and Jerusalem.  While living and working in the Middle East, John oversaw a number of music education and performance projects as co-founder of the Choir of London, ranging from international music festivals in the West Bank to a bursary scheme creating performance and educational opportunities for young Palestinian musicians in the UK.  John is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and has recently completed an 18-month leadership programme with the Forward Institute.  

COMMITTEE

In her professional career in health and social care, Agnès has worked mainly with children and families, in England and Central Africa. She believes strongly in the healing power of music. Music enriches children’s lives and brings new opportunities.

Following a visit to ESNCM branches in East Jerusalem and the West Bank in 2011, Agnès has organised concerts and other events in the UK, featuring Palestinian musicians, most of them students or teachers at ESNCM..  

COMMITTEE

Jay Crossland moved to Palestine from England in 2011 as full-time brass teacher, and after a year as Ramallah branch Academic Supervisor, became Academic Director of the ESNCM in from June 2015 until (2020). 

A strong believer in providing quality music education through motivation, some of Jay’s initiatives included the Concerto Competition, where advanced students compete to play a concerto with the Conservatory Orchestra, and the Showcase, giving a platform to junior ensembles and outreach student groups. She has also maintained and developed relationships with musical institutions around the world.

From a family of musicians, Jay played from a young age and trained at Chetham's School of Music and the Royal College of Music in London. She is also a multi-instrumentalist, who performs on bass, piano and violin and works as an arranger and conductor. She is currently freelancing, training as a specialist in musicians’ physical and mental health and has a new role as Director (remotely) of the Musicians' Health and Movement Institute in Oslo.

PATRON

From 2000 to 2014, Colin Green was CEO of the charity the International Medical Education Trust 2000 (IMET2000) working primarily in Palestine but also in Africa (Senegal, Uganda, Ghana, Malawi) and the Ukraine. He has since then been Director of Overseas Development and Treasurer. He has worked in Palestine since 1984 when he was an early and active member of Medical Aid for Palestine (MAP), then helped establish the first Palestinian Faculty of Medicine in 1994 in Al Quds University, together with a charity (FQMS) to support it. IMET2000 are currently running six large 5-year projects in the West Bank and Gaza as well as work in Ukraine, Uganda, Tibet refugee camps in India and Ghana. His main interests apart from surgical research, healthcare education, support of cultural activities and advanced training for Palestinians, are conflict resolution and the putative role of child mental health professionals in changing perceptions between hostile groups.

COMMITTEE
Photo and biography to follow

COMMITTEE

Nicola won Exhibition Scholarships on both flute and piano at the Royal College of Music alongside various prizes for all-round musicianship and the Eve Kisch flute prize. Since then she has given solo recitals at the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room and performed live on Classic FM and BBC radio 3. She has worked with the Bournemouth and London Philharmonic Orchestras and for the British Council on projects in Ecuador and recently in Turkey. Nicola has made several recordings and her recent release of the  complete  'Chants de Nectaire' by Koechlin was made Guardian Classical CD of the week. She is currently busy playing in various Opera productions, giving unaccompanied flute recitals from memory using a variety of flutes, folk flutes and whistles.

Nicola is passionate about making music available to all people in all places. Extensive work on Menuhin's 'Live Music Now!' scheme in her formative years made her acutely aware of the power of music to heal, build bridges and bring joy. She now works with LMN as a mentor and is co-founder of Rockhampton Folk Festival which has a large outreach project. 

Nicola has taught young Palestinian flute players online and feels privileged to be part of PalMusic UK and all that it can deliver, now more than ever