Richard Stilgoe

Richard Stilgoe is well known as a singer/songwriter, lyricist and broadcaster. In 1985 he founded and continues to run the Orpheus Trust, which devises and runs music programmes designed to help people with physical disabilities. He played an instrumental role in enabling the Trust to open a purpose built centre, part-funded by lottery funds and opened in 1998 to enhance and develop further the Trust’s work. Its students now appear all over the country, including the Royal Opera House, the Notting Hill Carnival and the Glastonbury Festival. He also presents the Stilgoe Saturday Concerts at the Royal Festival Hall and was High Sheriff of Surrey in 1998-99.

In the 1980s he was involved in the writing of Cats, Starlight Express and Phantom of the Opera, all of which continue to play all over the world. Schools continue to perform his musicals Bodywork and Brilliant the Dinosaur and a new work, Exit Allan, was performed at the International Festival of Musicals at Cardiff in October 2002. He has presented the Schools Proms since 1988, and passed his 200th appearance on Countdown.

Richard has two Tony nominations, three Monte Carlo Prizes, a Prix Italia, an Honorary Doctorate and an O.B.E. He was recently President of the Lord’s Taverners.