Here at Orchestras for All, we appreciate all the support we receive from our incredible community – especially when they take the opportunity to go one ‘step’ further.

This is the case with one of our Trustees, Dominic Parker – who is running the Lisbon Marathon in October later this year. With training for this challenge now well underway, we thought it would be a good idea to take the opportunity for Dominic to introduce himself in his own words:

Please can you introduce yourself and your relationship to Orchestras for All?

Hi, I’m Dominic - I’ve been a Trustee of Orchestras for All for around four years now, I think it is a brilliant charity. In my day job, I am the Director of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

What do you play, and what do you love most about your instrument?

I mainly play piano but have also played the flute and I have sung a lot. I love the piano because it is so versatile and can suit any mood - it’s therapeutic, challenging, satisfying, infuriating….

What are you doing? Why?

I have slightly crazily decided to run a marathon for Orchestras for All to try to raise some money – so in October I am going to Lisbon to run 26 miles. I’m aiming to raise £5,000 to fully fund one young person’s place in the National Orchestra for All (NOFA) - an incredible youth orchestra.

A full orchestra rehearsal at a NOFA residential

If you were introducing Orchestras for All to someone new, what would you tell them?

I’d say it is a great charity, now in its 15th year, that facilitates the joy of group music-making for young people who most likely would not otherwise have that opportunity – most importantly there are no fees and no auditions - and I’ve seen the change it has made to participants lives, through music, though community, through new opportunities and horizons.

What is your favourite thing about Orchestras for All?

For me, as a Trustee, it is that we have young people as fellow Trustees, and a youth board - this brings a vibrancy and insight which makes us all focus and think more clearly about what we are trying to do and how we do it.

What have you learned from your time with Orchestras for All?

That everyone should have the opportunity to make music – for simple joy, but also for the impact that experience can have on your aspirations and trajectory, whether that is musical or not. And that we are a long way from everyone in our society having that opportunity, so we have to keep trying.

The guitar section of the National Orchestra for All (NOFA) - our inclusive, non-auditioned national youth orchestra

What is your favourite part of the charity?

I love to hear testimonials from people who have participated in Orchestras for All’s programmes, as they are invariably incredibly passionate about the benefits they have taken away and the fun they have had.

If you had to describe Orchestras for All in one word, what would it be and why?

Smiles. Because that is the predominant reaction I see when I ask participants if they’ve enjoyed their times with Orchestras for All.