Stephen Carpenter

Finance Director

Stephen Carpenter's career has been in orchestra management, starting in Scotland in the early 1980s with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and later the Royal Scottish National Orchestra before moving to London in 1988 to be Chief Executive first of the City of London Sinfonia and then the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

He was Chairman of the Association of British Orchestras from 1999 to 2001. Stephen left the OAE at the end of 2014 to pursue his passion for Felix Mendelssohn, in particular the composer's journey to Scotland which inspired him to write is Hebrides Overture and Scottish Symphony. The results of this research can be seen at www.mendelssohninscotland.com. Stephen is also developing his own cultural holiday business, www.carpenterholidays.com, including planning and leading "Mendelssohn in Scotland Holidays" which follow exactly in Mendelssohn's footsteps nearly 200 years after his visit in 1829.