Our Team
Artistic Director
Joanne Quigley McParland
Meet our Board:
Joris is a public relations consultant from Armagh who trained at the National Geographic Society as a journalist in Washington DC. After a 10-year career in business journalism in London and Madrid, he returned to Northern Ireland to join the PR industry.
As PR consultant, former trustee of Belfast’s top arts centre, and strategic adviser, Joris has helped facilitate the creation of major new capital investment projects including the MAC.
Joris is a failed musician who loves music. He speaks French and Spanish, is (still) learning Irish, writes a weekly food column for the Belfast Telegraph and is a regular commentator and reviewer for the BBC.
After graduation from Queen’s University, Maggie was Orchestra Manager, first with the Ulster Orchestra, then the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra before moving to Manchester where she was Head of Orchestras and Ensembles at the RNCM. Since returning to Northern Ireland in 2017 she has worked on a freelance basis, including with Newry Chamber Music, the Ulster Orchestra, Northern Ireland Opera and West Cork Chamber Music Festival.
Brenda is a founder member of the Board of NCM and is the current secretary. She has 40 years’ experience as a teacher of Drama & Theatre Studies. Having obtained her B.Ed in Drama and English from St Mary’s University College, she continued her M.A. studies in Drama and Media at Ulster University. Brenda was appointed Head of Drama in Sacred Heart G.S. Newry where she taught until her recent retirement. Throughout her career Brenda has directed a wide range of plays and musicals with her students, instilling a love of theatre and working to promote the Arts in Education. She worked for many years as an examiner at GCSE and A Level with CCEA and Edexcel. Brenda is Director of the choir at St Patrick’s Church, Loughbrickland and is a member of Newry Community Choir.
Elizabeth is a Solicitor by profession having worked in private practice and as a Company Solicitor for many years before moving 10 years ago, to her present role, as Director of People and Governance at MJM Marine, a local, global manufacturing company.
She is also a qualified Speech and Drama teacher and a Section Secretary at Newry Musical feis. In her role on the Board she is delighted to have the unique opportunity to combine her love of the arts with her legal/governance background.
While growing up in Newry, Séamus benefited from the munificence of musicians August Toremans, Fr Séamus Moore, Sheila Cronin, Rodney Henry and Michael van Dessil. He holds a B.Mus from QUB and an M.Phil from TCD. He was Founding Head of Lyric fm, Director of RTÉ’s Orchestras, Quartet and Choirs and Policy Director and Music Adviser with Arts Council Ireland.
He studied conducting with George Hurst and Janos Furst and resuscitated Newry Choral Union while teaching at The Abbey Grammar School. He founded Dun Laoghaire Choral Society and conducted a string of music theatre productions at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre, including West Side Story. With OTC he conducted opera productions throughout Ireland and subsequently in London, Melbourne, New York, Brno, Porto, Lisbon and Prague. Board experience includes Centre Culturel Irlandais Paris and West Cork Music. He is a seasoned adjudicator and is Artistic Director and Jury Chairman of the Irish Freemasons Young Musician of the Year Competition.
Andrea Blain has lived in America, Northern Ireland, Canada and England. Currently based in Belfast, she has worked as a freelance musician and teacher of music, as well as a music administrator, conductor and music journalist. After joining the BBC in 1998 she worked in classical music production and broadcast. More recently she was a classical music presenter and producer for Minnesota Public Radio/American Public Media, a role she continues on a freelance basis.