Meet our Trustees

Philip Springate
Trustee – Mentoring & Alumni Support

Philip is a retired Director of Music of a large comprehensive school. He is a familiar face on the Wiltshire music scene as a horn player, and conductor of local orchestras, musical theatre groups and choral societies.

He trained at Dartington College of Arts, Devon, where he was inspired to foster creativity and a belief in music for all. As Director of Music, he built an active and thriving department which offered subsidised instrumental tuition, leading to an enviable reputation for extra-curricular music including choirs, orchestras, wind, and brass bands. A measure of this success was the winning participation in Music for Youth, competing and performing at national level. He has found it rewarding to find former pupils who have gone on to pursue careers in music as a result of this.

Philip’s first link with South West Music School came as a parent, where he saw firsthand how young talent could be nurtured and expanded across an eclectic range of music genres.