About Tessa

Since forever, I have loved music. My mum taught me the piano until I went to the Guildhall School as a Junior Exhibitioner, and music was a big part of our family life. Having survived heart surgery as a baby, I was later told I had lived “past my sell by date” and I’ve often wondered if this was in part due to the joy I experienced with music in my early years.

I’ve always felt passionate about the role of music in society and I loved studying African Music and African Literature at Leeds University. I wrote my dissertation on what we can learn from the role that music plays in life in Africa.

I went on to study piano accompaniment as a postgraduate at the Royal Academy of Music, bringing my love of playing into chamber music and working with opera singers. After finishing my studies, I started my career as a performer, piano teacher and businesswoman. A year after graduating, I founded ‘Music in Offices’ to bridge the gap between business and the arts and bring music making into the corporate sector for employee engagement, wellbeing and leadership programmes.

Committed to music-making opportunities being more accessible for amateur musicians, as well as bringing the highest level of music making to a wider audience, a year later in 2009 I co-founded the Investec International Music Festival with Wu Qian. Our inaugural season opened with Nicola Benedetti CBE, Crispian Steel-Perkins, The Sitkovetsky Trio and Lucy Crowe. Patrons of this festival are Dame Sarah Connolly, Nicola Benedetti CBE, Crispian Steele-Perkins and Sir Nicolas Bratza. To celebrate its tenth season in 2019, the festival commissioned a Triple Concerto by Charlotte Bray, performed by the Philharmonic Orchestra and the Sitkovetsky Trio.

In recognition of my contribution to music, in 2013 I was honoured to be made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music.

There are increasingly different outlets for my work including a monthly podcast, which explores what music means to people from different walks of life; a creative-thinking clinic offering short consultations to open up new creative approaches for other people’s projects; and my consultancy work on a variety of different cultural and business projects.

Recently, my consultancy work has included working for the Culture Mile, Make Music Day UK and coordinating the Arts, Health and Wellbeing Conference for the Setubal Music Festival, Portugal; I then took the role of Artistic Director for 2020. In 2021, I was the Creative Producer for the commissioned piece and film ‘Cap O’Rushes’, bringing the Setubal Youth Ensemble together with BSO Resound and Headspace Ensemble to create a music and dance film with UNIT opening the Culture, Health and Wellbeing International Conference.

I’m keen to continue bringing music and the arts to new audiences and in 2020, I initiated the Culture Column in City AM, which I write alongside the interview section ‘60 Seconds with…’ speaking with people who are working at the intersection of arts and business.

In 2020, in response to the pandemic, I also wanted to look for new ways of working more digitally to create more sustainable models for the arts and for freelancers. After a few conversations with the Arts and Business Company Showcase Media, I partnered with Peter, the founder, and we set up Showcase Consultants. We now work with a digital platform CoStar Experience, as well as serving as Cultural SMEs for KPMG working on a number of projects in the Middle East.

I’m delighted to be Gold Award Winner in the National Women’s Business Awards in 2021 and was honoured to be shortlisted for the Royal Philharmonic Awards 2013 and the National Business Awards 2016.