MEET THE TEAM

Artistic Director

Peter Ash’s career as conductor has been characterised by ambitious new projects: from first performances at the Salzburg Festival with members of the Berlin Philharmonic and Haydn operas at Garsington, to the premiere of Tobias Picker’s Fantastic Mr. Fox for the Los Angeles Opera. Recent projects have included the world premiere of Jamaican-born Eleanor Alberga’s Trumpet Concerto at the Barbican Hall and an immersive production of Richard Strauss’s opera Salome in the USA. Born in Iowa, Ash has been resident in London for over forty years, where he is passionately committed to high standards, imaginative programming and broadening audiences for classical music. He has taught at London’s Centre for Young Musicians for forty years and for twenty years he was Artistic Director of the London Schools Symphony Orchestra.  As a composer, he has written two family operas: Keepers of the Night and The Golden Ticket, based on Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He is thrilled to be beginning a wonderful new musical Odyssey.

Executive Director

Donald Sturrock joined BBC Television's Music and Arts Department in 1983, where he worked as writer and director, making over thirty documentaries, several of which won major international broadcasting awards. Since leaving the BBC, he has continued writing and directing for television and live theatre. His work includes seven opera librettos, two with Peter Ash as composer, including the world premiere of Tobias Picker’s Fantastic Mr Fox at the Los Angeles Opera, conducted by Peter and with designs by Gerald Scarfe. He has a long association with the work of Roald Dahl. He has made two television documentaries about the writer and adapted a number of his stories for the concert hall. His critically acclaimed biography, Storyteller: The Life of Roald Dahl was published in 2010 and shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize. Love from Boy, a collection of Dahl’s letters to his mother, was published in 2016. From 2018-2022, he was Chair of Trustees of Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity and from 2021-24 he was Chair of the Fantastic Peach Foundation. He is currently Chair of The Grasshopper Music Trust, the charity which funds Odyssey Festival Orchestra.

Orchestral Manager

Gill studied violin and organ at the Royal College of Music. As a professional violinist she worked with orchestras including the BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra, D'Oly Carte, Bournemouth Sinfonietta and the Mozart Players.

As a peripatetic violin and viola teacher she worked in several schools across London, in particular for the Pimlico Special Music Course. She was Head of Strings at London's Centre for Young musicians from 2009 until 2022. During her time there, she worked as orchestra manager for the London Schools Symphony Orchestra.

Fundraising Advisor

With over 30 years’ experience as a respected fundraising practitioner and leader, Helen has a wealth of expertise and track record of achievement as a trusted consultant and fundraising professional.  Working closely with senior leadership teams, Trustees, and senior volunteers, either at Director level or on a consultancy basis, Helen has proven success in growing income, helping a diversity of institutions improve their fundraising potential, from ‘household names’ to smaller, grassroots charities. 

Helen combines professional commitments with carefully chosen volunteer roles. Currently Helen is Trustee of Starehe UK (https://starehe.org/) and Fundraising Advisor for Odyssey Festival Orchestra, the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, and FACE (Fellowship & Aid to the Christians of the East)

Production Manager

Community Engagement Manager

Phoebe Halpern is a musician and educator committed to widening access to youth and community music-making. She holds a First-Class degree in Music from Durham University, where she performed with the Orchestral Society and Jazz Band, served as Director of Music at St Chad’s College and founded award-winning youth music initiatives. Her outreach work in Durham was recognised in the House of Commons and by the Student Global Leadership Foundation, which appointed her a Community Impact Scholar in 2024. She went on to complete a Music PGCE and Master’s at Cambridge University.

Phoebe now works with children’s choirs and orchestras, and with primary and secondary schools across London, designing and leading music workshops. She has also worked with organisations including Music for All, Soundcastle and Three Choirs Festival, and is a fundraising volunteer for Grief Encounter. Alongside her role at Odyssey, she is the Digital Content & Engagement Co-ordinator for The Gesualdo Six and an Associate Choral Leader at St Martin-in-the-Fields.