Ruth Montgomery, Music for Deaf Children Programme Leader
Ruth is a professional Deaf Musician, Flautist, Music Educator & Artistic Director for Audiovisability.
Ruth has been involved with Music of Life since its inception in 2003, first as a student musician and then later as a trustee. Since 2017 she has been designing and delivering music teaching programmes to Deaf children in several schools for the Deaf for Music of Life, leading its vision of increasing music opportunities for Deaf children and introducing them to the social, emotional and educational benefits of music making.
Ruth’s visual music teaching and approach to learning are strongly driven by the fact that she was born profoundly Deaf; she is a fluent British sign language user. As a flautist, she earned her Bachelor of Music honours degree at the Royal Welsh College of Music in Cardiff in 2005. For more than 16 years she has taught in a wide range of educational and community settings on a professional basis, from music for babies with Deafness to flute students from beginners to diploma level. She is a proud mother of two young sons also involved in music making.
Katie Baxter, Head of Development and Communications
Katie is an experienced fundraising and donor management professional with a strong track record in the charity sector, and a passion for improving the lives of others through her work.
Katie spent 4 years working for the legal charity Support Through Court, who helps people facing court alone without legal representation, where she led a team responsible for individual giving income. Her role involved managing key donor relationships, securing essential donations for the charity’s vital services across the UK, and delivering fundraising events. Before joining Support Through Court, she held the role of Philanthropy Officer at Cancer Research UK and also worked for the African Foundation for Development following her graduation from her Master’s degree.
Katie holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from Plymouth University, and a BSc in Environmental Science from the same institution. She has a strong interest in social justice, politics and global affairs, and believes that through working for charitable organisation’s, she can make a real difference in society. She feels very strongly about the work of Music of Life and the incredible impact we have on the lives of children and young people, and she will be leading on growing and diversifying the charity’s income to ensure we can keep delivering our wonderful services to an increasing number of children and young people with special needs.
Lily Harriss
Lily is a responsible and motivational leader, enthusiastic about delivering access to arts and education. In her work life, she is Director of Development at the Royal College of Music London. Before that, she had over 30 years of senior management experience in arts, heritage and education.
She has a deep understanding of the arts, particularly music ( a variety of styles), with a specific passion for and knowledge of the science of music performance and the study of music and well-being.
She became involved in Music of Life as a Trustee because she believes in their vision of music-making to advance education and improve the health and well-being of disabled children.
Emma Dearnaley
Emma is a lawyer with experience spanning a decade in a global law firm plus several years of legal, policy and advisory experience developed through roles working with and within the civil service, the technology sector, charities and not-for-profit organisations. Most recently Emma has worked as the Legal Director and General Counsel of Good Law Project, a campaign organisation that uses the law to create a better, fairer and greener future.
Emma is passionate about equality and motivated by the need for positive change in our society. Emma joined Music of Life in 2024 to help make music accessible to all children and young people.
Valentina Di Venuta
Valentina joined Music of Life in 2024.
She has been passionate about music from an early age, and she has experienced firsthand music’s ability to boost confidence and enrich the lives of anyone who has the opportunity to experience it in their lives.
Valentina is an investment professional and has worked in finance roles throughout her career. She brings experience in investing and growing businesses.
Belinda Kembery
Belinda joined Music of Life in 2024.
Originally a solicitor, Belinda cared extensively for a decade for her eldest child, who was profoundly disabled with a progressive neurological condition. Subsequently she became involved with the educational needs of SEN and underprivileged children; serving as a governor of a special needs school and volunteering long-term with a foundation that supports disadvantaged primary schools in her local area.
Belinda has had a lifelong love of music and plays the viola in a leading London-based amateur orchestra.
Stefano Filippi
Stefano holds two MSc in Finance and in Economics, has worked in finance roles throughout his career and brings experience of building and growing businesses. Stefano has been passionate about music since a young age, having attended a specialist music school as a violinist, and he is now learning to play the piano. Stefano believes music has the power to enrich children’s lives and has invested countless hours supporting his children’s musical interests.
He is now committed to help Music of Life grow and improve the quality of life of an ever increasing number of young people with disabilities and special needs.
Sophie Bruggemann
Dr. Phil. Sophie Brüggemann
Sophie joined Music of Life in 2020. She is a Data Lead and Researcher in the fields of media analytics and behavioral science.
Sophie graduated at Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich with a doctorate degree in musicology and media science. Her established methodology harnesses consumption preferences and audience typologies on music streaming platforms.
Over the course of the past 7 years, Sophie has acquired an intuition for data management and consumer analytics within the media & entertainment industry (Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group). As Senior Data Analyst at WMGs Spinnin’ Records, she developed analytics and reporting capabilities to optimize business intelligence strategies across marketing and product departments. In addition to her primary job functions, Sophie regularly shares her expertise on data psychology and media analytics, as keynote speaker (eg Berlinale’20, KarajanMusicTech’19), guest lecturer and co-author of scientific literature.
Alex McHardy
Alex joined Music of Life Foundation in 2023.
He is Head of Corporate Partnerships, Trusts and Foundations at The Lord’s Taverners, a charity which empowers young people to tackle inequality through cricket.
Before joining the third sector he spent a number of years working in music, including at record labels and in commercial radio.
He is passionate about promoting access to music for all children and young people.
Tristen Hennigs
Tristen joined Music of Life in 2023
She is the Arts Officer for a local government and is a partner in programming arts for well-being initiatives across Surrey.
Before her work in the public sector, she worked in Communications, Promotion and Development for Sony Classical, IMG Artists and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Following her degrees of MA Labour & Human Resources, Business and BA Psychology & Music from Ohio State University, she began working for Very Special Arts, supporting arts programmes for people with disabilities. She has remained committed to access to all arts for everyone since that time.
