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Our Patrons
John Altman
Musical Director – Composer – Arranger - Conductor - Saxophonist
Emmy, BAFTA and ASCAP award winner
John Altman is a musical director, arranger, composer, conductor and saxophonist. Beginning his career in the late 60's as an in-demand saxophonist, John has performed with the likes of Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Bob Marley, Muddy Waters and Prince. He later found great success as an arranger and conductor; among his many hit records are Aled Jones' 'Walking in the Air' (an album which he also produced), Alison Moyet's 'That Ole Devil Called Love', George Michael's 'Kissing a Fool' and Bjork's 'It's Oh So Quiet'.
As well as his ongoing achievements in commercial music, John has enjoyed a parallel career in the film scoring industry. He is responsible for three of the most famous scenes in cinema history: he arranged, harmonised and conducted 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life' in Monty Python's Life of Brian; he composed, arranged and conducted the music for the tank chase in Goldeneye; he also acted as the historical music advisor, arranger and producer for the band playing 'Nearer My God to Thee' in Titanic.
Andy Summers
Rock Guitar Legend - The Police
Multi Grammy Award Winner
Andy Summers achieved international fame as the guitarist for
The Police. Emerging from London's punk scene, the Police gained international renown with many hit songs, including "Message in a Bottle", "Roxanne", "Don't Stand So Close to Me", "Every Breath You Take", and "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic". During his time with the band, Andy twice won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, first with "Reggatta de Blanc" (co-authored with Copeland and Sting in 1979), and then with his instrumental "Behind My Camel" in 1980.
In addition he has also recorded twelve solo albums, collaborated with many other artists, toured extensively under his own name, published several books, and composed several film scores. His story can be read in his autobiography 'One Train Later'.
Neil Corbould
Special Effects Supervisor
Double Oscar Academy and multi BAFTA award winner
Neil Corbould is a British special effects supervisor best known for his work on major blockbuster films such as Gladiator, Saving Private Ryan, Ready Player One and Rogue One.
Neil Corbould started his career in Special Effects in 1978 on Superman: The Movie. This was followed by work on Saturn 3, The Elephant Man, American Werewolf in London, Victor Victoria, Pink Floyd the Wall and Amadeus. In 1985, he started work on his first of three Bond films, as a technician on A View to a Kill and The Living Daylights.
In 1995 he started on The Fifth Element which was his first film in the role of special effects supervisor for which he received a BAFTA. He went on to supervise the science fiction thriller Event Horizon which was followed by Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, for which he received a second BAFTA.This was followed by Entrapment and the Ridley Scott epic Gladiator for which he won an Academy Award. He also received double BAFTA nominations for Gladiator and for Vertical Limit in the same year. This was followed by work on The Mummy Returns and then a second collaboration with Ridley Scott on Black Hawk Down. In 2002, came Roland Emmerich's The Day After Tomorrow, which earned him his third BAFTA. King Arthur and Kingdom of Heaven followed and in 2005 he travelled to Australia to start work on Superman Returns.
Neil was part of the visual effects team that supervised the practical effects element of the movie and was instrumental in the process of getting Gravity from script to screen.
Ian McElhinney
Veteran Actor & award winning Director
Ian McElhinney is an internationally renowned actor and award-winning director. With a career spanning thirty years, Ian has appeared in many television series Taggart, Hornblower, Cold Feet and The Tudors. More recently he is best known in the role of Ser Barristan Selmy in Game of Thrones.
Ian directed an original production of Stones In His Pockets playing the West End, on Broadway and touring internationally including Iceland, Sweden and Japan. He has also directed Nineteen Hundred and Swansong in Sweden.
David Lightbody
Senior Vice President, Disney Live Entertainment
Former President of ISTA (2005-2012)
David has extensive theatre experience having worked with a number of the world’s leading commercial theatre companies. He has in-depth experience with the UK theatre industry and a very strong specialization in the newly emerging Chinese musical theatre industry.
David joined Cameron Mackintosh Ltd. as General Manager, China, responsible for the company’s China strategy including production, theatres, casting, technical training, marketing and legal issues.
Most recently, David was the founder and Executive Producer of his own company which was established in 2009. For his last project with the company “Mamma Mia! China”, David was responsible for producing the Chinese language version of “Mamma Mia!” on behalf of the original producers. The production opened to public and critical acclaim in June 2011 and toured to 20 cities across China.
Michael Luevano
Award winning Events Organiser
Michael's Asia chapter began in Hong Kong in 1994, as the Tournament Director for the Salem Open followed by a move to Shanghai in 1998 to establish and lead a new tennis identity in China.
His portfolio includes the multi-year award winning ATP franchise, the Heineken Open and the WTA franchise, the Polo Open, the Tennis Masters Cup, the Shanghai F1 Grand Prix and currently the award winning Shanghai Rolex Masters.
Michael has also promoted such international icon entertainment acts such as The Rolling Stones, Sir Elton John and Tiesto. In addition to sporting events, Michael organises the annual Booshkabaash Music Festival in Shanghai which hosts a battle of the bands for young musicians. Michael is also a professional musician, and tours with his band Studio 188 in China, Asia, and the US.
Marie Jones, OBE
Award winning Playwright and Actress
Marie Jones is an actress and writer, known for In the Name of the Father (1993), Philomena (2013) and Closing the Ring (2007). She was awarded the O.B.E. (Officer of the British Empire) in the 2002 Queens Honours Birthday List for her services to Drama. She is the founding member of theatre group Charabanc, and contributor to the Dubbeljoint Theatre Company.
Her play, "Stones in his Pockets", played at the New Ambassador and Duke of York's Theatres and was awarded Best Comedy in 2001 (2000 season) at the Laurence Olivier Theatre Awards and the London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Comedy.