Who's who
Douglas Boyd
Artistic Director
Dougie, in collaboration with his wonderful team, oversees the artistic direction of the company, including long-term repertoire planning, orchestra, cast and creative teams and working closely with Nicola Creed, our Executive Director. Before embarking on a conducting career Dougie was a founder member and principal oboe of The Chamber Orchestra of Europe for 21 years. He is also Music Director of Orchestre de chambre de Paris and guest conducts all over the world. His wife Sally Pendlebury is a cellist in the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Fitzwilliam String Quartet. Outside of music he is a political geek, an obsessive Crystal Palace fan and is making attempts to improve his French as well as raising three marvellous children.
Nicola Creed
Executive Director
Nicola became Executive Director in 2013 after 14 years as Associate Director. She shares the helm with Artistic Director Douglas Boyd and together they have developed increasingly high artistic standards and seen the expansion of the length of the festival and its membership by over 50% in the last six years. She was one of the core team managing the move to Wormsley, the design of the opera house and the appeal for £3.5million.
After graduating from Cambridge, where she was a choral scholar and cellist, Nicola joined Harold Holt before producing classical music festivals in Exeter, York, Salisbury and Chichester. Before joining Garsington she spent ten years with the National Trust and three with the Historic Houses Association overseeing large-scale events and membership.
Laura Canning
Director of Artistic Administration
Laura moved to Garsington Opera in 2015 and manages the artistic side, working closely with production teams, principal singers, chorus and orchestra to ensure all productions are of the highest possible quality. During her degree in modern languages at Cambridge University, Laura worked backstage at the university theatre and has worked in opera administration for her whole career. She started in singer management with Athole Still and Harold Holt and has worked at Glyndebourne, Welsh National Opera and Houston Grand Opera. She lives in Oxford with her husband and two sons. Don't invite her to an opera on a Tuesday evening as she hates to miss her local pub quiz.
Steve Hawkins
Technical Director
Steve is responsible for all technical aspects of Garsington Opera's productions. He works closely with directors, designers and heads of lighting, costume, wigs and props to realise all design elements of each production. He particularly enjoys working with independent set builders and scenic artists from around the country to produce the varied and ambitious set designs. He recruits and manages the seasonal stage management and production teams and oversees the technical running of the repertory season. In his free time Steve likes to go camping and walking with his young family.
Hannah Barkley
Artistic Administration and Company Manager
Hannah started at Garsington Opera in 2018, moving into her current role as Artistic Administration and Company Manager in November 2021, and manages all mid- and short-term planning and the running the Young Artist Programme, as well as looking after all of the Garsington artists. Hannah graduated from Durham University in 2013 having completed a degree in Music specialising in recorder performance and has worked in arts administration since, previously working for the Royal College of Music and the Philharmonia Orchestra. She particularly enjoys working with young singers and has volunteered as a careers consultant with the London music conservatoires. When not at the opera, Hannah can be found cooking, doing yoga or on long walks around the countryside.
Angus Boyd-Heron
Event Manager
Angus has enjoyed a long association with Garsington Opera, working on a seasonal basis on the opera festivals since 1996. Before that, he worked in war-torn Bosnia, something that GO founder Leonard Ingrams thought might come in handy for resolving neighbourly disputes! In 2010-11 he was Project Manager for the successful move to Wormsley, where he is now the freelance Event Manager, responsible (as one friend kindly put it) for ‘bogs and boilers’. With a Masters in Renewable Energy, Angus has a keen interest in reducing our carbon footprint. He has a Chemistry degree from Oxford, is a qualified gas engineer, and is regularly found swimming in the River Thames throughout the winter in just his trunks!