Aurora appoints new trustees to help ‘write the orchestra’s next chapter’

Aurora Orchestra has announced the appointment of three new trustees, bringing “a wealth of knowledge and experience” across governance, creative learning and fundraising.

JILLIAN BARKER has held leadership positions in education at cultural organisations including English Touring Opera, Arts Council England, the Barbican Centre and the National Gallery.

Currently, Barker is director of learning and participation for the Royal Opera House and leads its national programme to inspire creativity through ballet and opera.

She also oversees the award-winning Create & Learn National Schools Programme, which nurtures diverse young talent in ballet and opera.

IAN KARET, a solicitor specialising in intellectual property and technology, will also be joining the London-based orchestra’s board.

Karet sits as a deputy high court judge and an arbitrator and will be joining the board of the Fundraising Regulator next year. 

He has previously sat on the boards of the Charity Commission and RGB Kew and was co-chair of the British Museum Review 2024.

They will be joined by chartered management accountant CHRISTOPHE KASOLOWSKY, a partner at management consultancy Baringa, where he advises CFOs on finance transformation and innovation. Previously, he was an equity partner at EY and chief product officer at Aptitude Software.

He is a trustee of the Rachel Podger Foundation and has previously served as a trustee of Pushkin House.

Aurora chief executive JOHN HARTE said: “As Aurora enters its third decade, it is an exciting indication of the organisation’s current vibrancy that our recent board recruitment round attracted such an outstanding field of prospective trustees.”

“We are thrilled to welcome Jillian, Ian and Christophe to Aurora, and I look forward to working closely with them as we write the orchestra’s next chapter,” he added.