Council and Committees
The RMA is governed by its Council. Much of the day-to-day running of the RMA is organised through sub-committees of the Council. We have developed a quick start guide for new members of Council.
Council consists of a President, five Vice Presidents, the immediate past President, the Honorary Treasurer, and between seven and ten Ordinary Members. Council members are appointed for a three-year term, except for the Honorary Treasurer who is elected annually. Any member of the RMA can be nominated to stand for election as an Ordinary Member of Council. Elections are held annually with the results announced at the Annual General Meeting each September.
Council Members
Council members, elected by the membership, are Directors of the company and Trustees of the charity. The current Council members are listed below.
A number of others are invited to attend meetings of Council (but are not Directors/Trustees and therefore do not hold a vote). These are: the Chairs of key Committees; the Officers; the Student Representatives (see the relevant tabs); and the Editors of the Journal of the Royal Musical Association and the RMA Research Chronicle (see https://www.rma.ac.uk/publications/). In addition all past Presidents of the Association are invited to attend.
 |
|
 |
Simon Keefe, |
Valerie James, |
Barbara Kelly, Immediate Past President |
 |
 |
 |
Lois Fitch |
Rebecca Herissone |
Clair Rowden, |
 |
 |
|
| Catherine Tackley, Vice President (to 2025) |
Caroline Rae Vice President (to 2024) |
Nicholas Attfield Ordinary Member (to 2026) |
 |
||
| Amy Blier-Carruthers Ordinary Member (to 2026) |
Erin Johnson-Williams Ordinary Member (to 2026) |
Nuria Bonet Ordinary Member (to 2025) |
 |
 |
 |
| Laura Hamer Ordinary Member (to 2025) |
Ann van Allen-Russell Ordinary Member (to 2025) |
Sue Miller |
 |
 |
 |
Genevieve Arkle, |
Mark Berry |
Sarah Collins Ordinary Member (to 2024) |
 |
 |
|
| Steven Berryman, Co-opted Member (to 2024) |
Tom Attah, Co-opted Member (to 2024) |
|
|
|
Committee Chairs
Chair of Awards Committee: Catherine Tackley (Catherine.Tackley@liverpool.ac.uk)
Chair of Events Committee: Clair Rowden (RowdenCS@cardiff.ac.uk)
Chair of External Affairs Committee: Simon Keefe (s.keefe@sheffield.ac.uk)
Chair of Finance, Membership and Communications Committee: Lois Fitch (l.fitch@rcs.ac.uk)
Chair of Publications Committee: Rebecca Herissone (Rebecca.Herissone@manchester.ac.uk)
Chair of Search Committee: Caroline Rae (Rae@cardiff.ac.uk)
Full membership of Committees is given on the sub-committees of the Council page.
Other Leadership Roles
Music Education Initiative: Steven Berryman
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: Amy Blier-Carruthers and Freya Jarman
150th Anniversary Working Party: Mark Berry
Officers
There are six Officers who provide support to Council in delivering the work of the Association:
 |
 |
 |
| Amanda Babington | Michael Byde | Daniel Elphick |
 |
 |
|
| Maureen Wolloshin | Michelle Assay |
- Amanda Babington, Executive Officer – Deals with membership payments and subscriptions, takes minutes at RMA meetings and keeps the Association’s rules and regulations up to date.
- Michael Byde, Digital Technologies Officer – Maintains the RMA website and the online renewal and subscriptions system, edits news items and web features, and supports associated administrative procedures.
- Dan Elphick, Communications Officer – Supports the RMA’s publicity and communications strategy, manages the RMA social media accounts, and edits the monthly E-Bulletin.
- Maureen Wolloshin, Student Liaison Officer – Works closely with students who wish to organise RMA-supported study days to develop ideas and plan events.
- Katherine Williams – Research Training Officer – Works with research students and early-career researchers in Music to coordinate research training activities provided by the RMA and to establish collaborative working with other providers of research training.
- Michelle Assay, Flagship Conferences Coordinator – Liaises with and supports partner hosts for the RMA Annual Conference and the RMA/BFE Research Students Conference.
Student Representatives
 |
 |
 |
| Mollie Carlyle, Student Representative (January 2023-January 2025) |
Maya Ann Morris, Student Representative (January 2024-January 2026) |
Constitution
The constitution of the Royal Musical Association is governed by three documents:
- Memorandum of Association: The Memorandum establishes the status of the Association as a charity and as a limited liability company, and sets the charitable objects.
- Articles of Association: The Articles establish the constitutional framework for the Association, in particular the rights and powers of trustees and members to make decisions (including to establish the rules) through general meetings (including the AGM) and meetings of trustees. The Articles also explain how trustees are appointed.
- Rules: The Rules explain the details of membership and of the governance structures through which decisions are made, including the terms of reference for Council and its subcommittees.
The Memorandum and Articles have legal force and may only be amended with the agreement of the Charity Commission. The Articles allow the Association to make Rules for its own governance, and these can be amended by Council or the membership.