Trustees & Staff

Name: Young Music Makers
Address: Highgate Road, London, NW5 1RN, GB
Location: William Ellis School

Meet the people who guide Young Music Makers and support our Saturday music community.

Management Team

John K Miles

Musical Director and Lead

'Sophisticated Composer' 'Powerful Saxophonist' - John Fordham, The Guardian

John K Miles is YMM’s Musical Director and Lead, and a former YMM saxophone tutor. He established YMM’s INNOVATE pathway of creative ensembles and leads INNOVATE 3, drawing on approaches he developed leading projects for the London Philharmonic Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia, National Youth Jazz Orchestra and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
John has written scores for film and television (BBC1, BBC2, Channel 4, Channel 5, ARTE and independent productions), and for theatre, jazz and world music ensembles and the concert hall. Recent commissions include Party Time, a touring children’s show for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic (2024), and Share the Dream, a four-year collaboration with the CBSO for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games celebrations. His interactive guide to the orchestra, The Wish, was nominated for a Rhinegold award and has been performed to around 5,000 children.
As a saxophonist and flautist he has worked and recorded with reggae star Maxi Priest, soul legend Geno Washington, jazz musicians Tim Garland, Gerard Presencer and Alan Skidmore, and American trumpeter Terell Stafford. He has released two albums, The Enchanter and Trane Ride.
John was a visiting professor on the Guildhall School’s Leadership Masters for ten years and a theory consultant for ABRSM. He has led education projects for organisations including English National Opera, Britten Sinfonia and the Barbican. He has worked with musicians aged 4 to 99, always aiming to give every participant a role that challenges them but in which they can succeed, and often surprise themselves. He believes deeply in music’s power to bring people together and to support well-being.

www.johnkmiles.co.uk
Richard Peel

School Business Manager

Richard worked for several years for a leading disability charity, supporting adults with profound physical and cognitive disabilities to overcome some of their challenges, and has seen how gathering communities in joint endeavours like making music together has substantial benefits in bolstering people's self-esteem and wellbeing.
He has enjoyed singing in choirs most of his life and is an active member of the New Tottenham Singers where he serves as treasurer and committee member. His other business experience includes nine years working in finance, and more than fifteen years running his own companies in the printing industry.

Trustees

Mark McDonald

Chair of Trustees

Mark grew up in a musical household and has a clear understanding of the lifelong learning and cultural opportunities that music tuition and performance can bring. He lives locally to YMM's hub at William Ellis School and is married with three children.
All of the family have attended YMM and play and perform a variety of instruments - from drums, clarinet and piano to singing and guitar.
Outside of YMM and family life, Mark has had an international career in venture capital & private equity, supporting mid-size companies to invest in new ideas, projects and people.
Virginia Kerridge

Vice-Chair of Trustees

Virginia is one of YMM's adult students having been a member of the adult recorder ensemble for more than 15 years and has seen the school grow and flourish.
She knows first hand the stimulation of learning and the joy of playing music on a Saturday morning and is keen to enable more students from diverse backgrounds to join the YMM family. In her main career she was a solicitor.
Xavier Nicolas

Treasurer

Music is core to Xavier's family. His three children and wife are or have been YMM students for many years. They fully enjoyed the YMM breadth of musical experiences learning the ukulele, piano, saxophone, rock and pop, drums, jazz singing and others. They all developed a creative mind and embraced the YMM community spirit.
Xavier is keen to offer this unique experience to many more music students from all backgrounds.
He lives locally and works in the finance industry during the week.
Cristian Darie

Trustee

Music has shaped Cristian’s life since childhood. He values its ability to build confidence, encourage creativity and bring people together.
As a trustee, he focuses on YMM’s technology and online presence, helping the charity strengthen its operations and reach more people.
Outside YMM, he is co-founder and CTO of INKI, founder of Kidfriendly, and a core contributor to Repo Prompt, an open-source platform for agentic software engineering.
Julie Baba

Trustee

Julie joined the Board of Trustees because of her belief in the positive difference that music can make in people’s lives. As the parent of a child who attends Young Music Makers, she has seen the value of having a place where a love of music can flourish, and where people across the community have opportunities to learn and develop musical skills.
With a background in leadership, learning and organisational development, Julie is passionate about helping people learn, grow and build confidence. She values the way music can encourage creativity, support wellbeing and bring people together through a shared interest and sense of community.
She is proud to support Young Music Makers and the important work it does in creating accessible and rewarding musical opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds.
Ardiana Leslie

Trustee

Ardiana is a mother of two teenage boys, including a YMM music production student. She decided to become a trustee because she has seen first-hand the positive difference a focused and supportive environment can make to a child’s approach to learning music.
She has experience working as a travel consultant, nursery teacher and in SEMH (Social, Emotional and Mental Health). Working as a travel consultant helped her develop her communication, organisation and problem-solving skills, while her experience in teaching has shown her the importance of supporting children in their learning and development. Working in SEMH has given her a deeper understanding of children’s emotional needs, and of the importance of creating a safe, caring and supportive environment where every child feels valued.
Dan Carrier

Trustee

Biography coming soon!
Matthew Davis

Trustee

Biography coming soon!
James Sheehan

Trustee

Biography coming soon!