OKMT is governed by a Board of Trustees and is run by our Director, Clare Lawrence, with a small staff team. Our part-time qualified Music Therapists have all completed a Masters Degree in Music Therapy. They are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and uphold its Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics supported by the Guide to Professional Practice which is produced by the British Association of Music Therapists (BAMT). Some specialised music teachers with wide experience also teach pupils at OK Music School. We have 4 part-time administrative and fundraising staff members. All of our therapists, teachers and staff have DBS checks and receive regular Safeguarding Training. We are assisted by around 20 volunteers who help with marketing, social media, IT and at our various music projects, concerts and events.
Ron Miao
Chair
Ron is currently the COO for Hadrian’s Wall Capital, a new financial services company in the process of raising capital to invest in UK SMEs. He began his financial services career with Morgan Stanley New York in 1991 in the Fixed Income Department. In 2000 Ron joined Lehman Brothers International in London. In 2004 Ron was recruited by Citi Global Markets International to run ABS trading. Prior to working in the financial services industry, Mr. Miao worked as an electrical engineer for Sikorsky Aircraft in Connecticut. He was responsible for designing aircraft avionics test systems and writing avionics computer programs. Ron earned a B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
Ray Collins
ACMA CGMA – Treasurer
Ray currently is a Director of his own consultancy company, working with large global corporates on senior assignments covering Business Transformation, Commercial and System projects. These have included SONY Plc, BAE Systems, SC Johnson and currently Reed Business Information – part of the RELX US Group. Ray has been involved in community projects throughout his life; examples being helping set up the local sports council, the local town twinning committee and active involvement with his family ownership and running of a non-league football club for over twenty years. He has two grown-up daughters who have started their post-grad careers and keeps active as a member of the Royal Canoe Club, sailing and is a member of the Nuffield Gym. Ray is a life-long supporter of Tottenham Hotspur FC and thus is one of life’s great optimists!
Jill Clark
Jill worked for IBM Europe at La Défense in Paris for 5 years, before returning to their UK office in Chiswick. She now lives in Twickenham with her husband and 3 children aged 23, 20 and 16. Her 16-year-old son is diagnosed with autism and attends OKMT for piano lessons. Her 20-year-old daughter is also on the autistic spectrum and attends the OK Music School for singing. Jill first heard about OKMT 12 years ago and has seen it grow to work with disabled children, the elderly, young people with mental health problems, parents and the community. Jill felt so inspired by all the work that Margaret Lobo did that she agreed to join the Trustees in 2014.
Laura (Plail) Clayton
Laura has 15 years experience of working in the cultural/creative industries world; working as a consultant offering strategic advice and latterly in Government, employed at Historic England in the new Government Advice Team and most recently at the Department of Culture Media and Sport. Laura has extensive experience of applying and evaluating grant applications and evaluating success and operational change.
Kamna Muralidharan
Kamna moved to Richmond with a young family and joined OKMT with the desire to give back to the community she feels lucky to call home. Her work experience ranges from the voluntary sector to co-founding a mobile app. She currently works in grant making with a keen interest in supporting community organisations to adopt user led design thinking in order to thrive. For pleasure, she sings with a local community choir.
Peter Hadfield
Peter Hadfield is a Music Publisher who lives in Richmond. Until spring 2019 he was also manager of a Creative Industries Institute at a London University. Peter started his career in Music by founding a company dedicated to ‘house’ and ‘dance’ music which was purchased in 2004 by BMG Music. Subsequently Peter worked for both major music corporations and founded and has lots of experience working in film production, management and music television and worked for the company Carnaby Films International. He continues to act as a consultant to those industries and is currently working with SMEs looking to engage with immersive technologies. Peter is a passionate supporter of Music Therapy and music charities generally. He is very much hoping to make a positive contribution to the work of the Otakar Kraus Music Trust over the coming years.
Gemma Le Marquer
Gemma is an experienced marketer with over 25 year developing customer marketing programmes for brands such as Bupa, Avis, Nectar and Lastminute.com and currently leads the sales and marketing teams for a student accommodation provider.
Gemma also worked with the Department of Health and the NHS to lead and deliver pan-London behaviour change strategies and campaigns to drive Smoking Cessation and Immunisation uptake and launch the first GP led Vascular Risk Assessment pilots in the country.
Living locally in Twickenham with her family, Gemma wanted to put her marketing skills to good use and support her local community and is delighted to join the Trustees of the Otakar Kraus Music Trust.
Clare Lawrence
Director
Clare joined OKMT in September 2015 to be its first General Manager to help it extend its reach and services within the local community and was appointed Director in December 2017. She comes from a background in music tourism. Clare is a keen amateur violinist and plays in a quartet. She specialised in organising tours for amateur choirs and orchestras, particularly those from the US and UK, to go to destinations across Europe. She performed all the operational roles required to make a tour successful and gained the greatest pleasure from when she was organising venues and promoting concerts in France and Spain. Clare lives locally in the borough of Richmond. Her son, who has additional needs, has been benefiting from music therapy from the OKMT since the age of four. He now enjoys being part of OK Music School and participating in their performances. Clare is passionate about helping more children and young people have fun and achieve their potential through music therapy.
Cheryl Valland
Administrator
Cheryl has been an Administrator with the Trust since 2010. Following 20 years of experience in the publishing and the printing industry, and having travelled widely and lived abroad for nearly 20 years, she felt it was time to come home and give back to the community. After winning a World of Difference grant from Vodafone to work for a charity of her choice, the Otakar Kraus Music Trust became a part of her life.
Valerie Roy
Fundraising Manager
Valerie has worked for the Trust since 2008. Following many years in the export business, working for companies including Courtaulds and Colefax & Fowler, Valerie volunteered at Wandsworth Carers Centre, before becoming a Project Worker for a Richmond based charity helping families with a child with additional needs. She subsequently became a founding Trustee of local charity, Me too & Co, (now Skylarks) and was Secretary for 8 years, responsible for the administration of the charity, assisting with Governance and fundraising. Having witnessed the wonderful work OKMT was carrying out with children with additional needs for several years, Valerie started working with Margaret Lobo on the international side in 2008, and now raises funds for OKMT to ensure their valuable work can continue.
Hana Wilford
Operations Co-ordinator
Mercedes Bianchin
Music School Co-ordinator
Mercedes joined OKMT in January 2017. She helps coordinate the Music School as well as supporting the organisation with its fundraising events and concerts. Originally from Argentina, she lives in the Borough of Richmond upon Thames with her family. Mercedes came across OKMT when one of her daughters was diagnosed with ASD and Music Therapy was recommended. In the past she worked as a language teacher both in schools and privately in Buenos Aires and in London. Subsequently she worked for nearly 10 years in purchasing within the catering industry. She was Purchasing Director at Ritter Courivaud Ltd, one of the leading specialist food ingredient importers and distributors in the UK. Mercedes also sits on the committee of the local branch of the National Autistic Society. She enjoys playing tennis and reading if she can get some peace and quiet.
Edison R Carolino
Music Director
Edison qualified as a Music Therapist at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama completing a Department of Health approved Diploma in Music Therapy ( SRAsT(M) and also is registered with the HCPC (Health and Care Professions Council). Edison works for the Otakar Kraus Music Trust with children and adults with a wide range of conditions. He has many years of experience as a music therapist and teacher. He devised OK Music School with our Founder, Dr Margaret Lobo and has developed the IRP technique, a unique teaching method which has achieved great success enabling children and young people with disabilities to learn to play an instrument.
Carmem Coles
Carmem Coles (SRAsT) is a full member of the BAMT and also is registered with the HCPC (Health and Care Professions Council). She originally qualified in Brazil (having taken a 4-year full-time degree in music therapy) and then gained accreditation in the UK, having completed a module at APU (Anglia Polytechnic University). She has worked with children and adults with a wide range of conditions, ranging from learning disabilities, special needs, emotional and behavioural difficulties to dementia, both in Brazil and the UK.
Christine Fuller
Chrissy has always had a heart for children and originally trained as a primary and special needs teacher, specialising in music teaching. She has had a wide range of musical experiences from singing in a classical chamber choir, playing in a covers band, leading a Christian worship band and many other musical adventures. She is passionate about music and the difference that it can make in a person’s life. She is delighted to be part of OKMT as she had formerly gained some work experience here before embarking on her formal training at the University of South Wales, where she obtained a merit in her Music Therapy MA in 2020. She has worked as a therapist in a primary special school since qualifying but enjoyed working with a wide range of music therapy clients on her placements. She also enjoys teaching violin and piano privately. She is registered with HCPC and a member of BAMT.
Sophie Crawford
A classically trained bassoon player, Sophie studied at the Purcell School of Music from aged 12 before continuing her studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and Royal College of Music. Embarking on a successful orchestral career, she strived to musically reach out and make a difference beyond the realm of concert goers. This led her to music therapy, and she obtained her MA in Music Therapy from Roehampton University. During her training, Sophie worked with NHS CAMHS in the Learning Disability Team and in dementia care with MHA Methodist Care Homes.
Since graduating, Sophie has worked in inpatient adult acute mental health with the NHS, and now works in the community in adult mental health and with children and young people with a range of needs. She enjoys working with a wide range of music therapy clients and teaching woodwind and piano to children and adults.
Margaret Nicholson
Margaret (Moggs) qualified as a Music Therapist in 2018 from Roehampton University with distinction. Since then, she has worked with adults and children with a range of needs including social, emotional and mental health needs, moderate to profound and multiple learning disabilities, life-limiting illnesses, neurological conditions or disabilities, and dementia. Moggs has worked in a variety of settings including educational, social care, healthcare, community services and domestic.
Moggs began learning Music at a young age, and attended the Purcell School of Music where she studied Trumpet, Piano and Voice. She completed a BA in Music from Durham University, where she was a choral scholar. After graduating Moggs was a member of Voce Chamber Choir, directed by Suzi Digby OBE, and the Southwark Cathedral Merbecke Choir directed by Huw Morgan. She currently sings with the Ripieno Choir, based in Thames Ditton. She lives in Claygate with her husband and 4 children and plays tennis in her spare time.
Elaine Ng
Elaine qualified as a Music Therapist from Roehampton University in 2021. She has worked mainly with adolescents with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs in primary and secondary schools. She has also obtained a BMus in Music from King’s College London with Piano as her first instrument and is an experienced piano accompanist. In teaching general music and piano classes in Singapore to adolescents and young adults, she enjoys and believes in teaching through active engagement. She aims to help her students enjoy learning through cooperative teacher-student activities and strongly believes in the teacher-student relationship in music making. In general, she is excited to join the team at The Otakar Kraus Music Trust where music therapy and music education meet.
Tara Maysey
Tara has been singing all her life at every opportunity and started her music teaching career as a piano teacher specialising in early years. But after being gifted a ukulele by her husband for their 1st wedding anniversary, the ukulele stole her heart in 2012. So much so that she founded a not for profit organisation called the The London Ukulele Project, whose aim is to use the ukulele as a tool to bring people together to tackle loneliness and promote wellbeing. With students ranging from 3 years old to 87 she has witnessed first hand the power of music to change people’s lives as it has also changed hers!
She started teaching an online ukulele class for OKMT during the covid pandemic for children and young people with additional needs and their siblings who had been isolated at home. So much joy was had that Tara continued into the next term and the term after that, and now our Wednesday after school ukulele club is a firm fixture. For Tara the best thing about the OKMT ukulele classes is the friendships that are made, the support that they give to one another and that they are AMAZING ukulele players!
Emilio Reyes
Emilio Reyes started playing in folk music band The Melodic when at school and has been playing and writing music ever since. He has studied jazz piano with Roland Perrin and music performance at Morley College. Recently he co-led and played keyboards for Down is Up, who play the music of the experimental American composer Moondog. Currently he is playing keyboards for the Peruvian cumbia band Manzana Tropical.
Emilio has worked in both social care and mental health fields and has a longstanding interest in work that involves music, arts and social care. He is currently studying to be a Music Therapist at Roehampton University and will graduate in September 2023.
Rachel Logan
Rachel is a singing teacher who is delighted to join OKMT as a teacher for OK Music School. She trained at the RNCM (BMus, PG Dip) and worked as a professional classical singer and vocal tutor before having her family. She now resides in Twickenham with her husband, three children and Dolly, the Jack Russell and since settling down, Rachel has crossed over to a more permanent teaching role. Rachel is enthusiastic to work with people of all ages and abilities. She aims to create a compassionate and nurturing environment for her students where they can develop their self esteem and confidence through the joy of singing, an activity that has social, physical and above all mental benefits. Rachel has recently completed the Vocal Health First Aid Course with Vocal Health Education, you never stop learning!
Gary McNeillie
Gary has been teaching guitar for over 25 years and has acquired an expansive range of experience.
He currently also works with Richmond Music Trust and two private schools teaching guitar and has been a classroom music tutor with Hounslow Music Service.
His wide and varied skill set ranges from working one to one, in small to large groups and with students of varying ages and abilities, face to face and online. His experience extends to working in performance, music production, mentoring bands, song writing, recording sessions, and music therapy.
Matthew Sheath
Matthew is an experienced musician and SEN teacher, with particular expertise in the field of autism. Having worked for almost 30 years in special schools and the SEN sector in Ealing, Richmond and Hounslow, he now works as a freelance musician and teacher and is a choir director for Include, a Surrey based charity that provides speech and language therapy based community activities for people of all ages with communication disabilities. He has many years experience playing keyboards in bands of different genres, including pop, rock and jazz, and he still performs regularly around the country with several bands.