Honorary President: Alison Balsom OBE

We are extremely fortunate to have the world-renowned trumpeter Alison Balsom as our Honorary President. Alison was born and grew up in Royston though no longer lives in the town. She is not actively involved in the day-to-day running of the festival but supports it whenever she can. She was a star attraction at the 2014 festival; presented at the 2016 Finale Concert, and performed at St Mary’s Church, Ashwell, in 2019 with her Balsom Ensemble to raise more than £2,300 for the refurbishment of St John’s Parish Church, Royston. 

Three times Classic Brit winner, her career has been phenomenal. Playing with the world’s best orchestras, she is regularly the soloist at the Hollywood Bowl and events such as the Last Night of the Proms. Find out more on Alison’s website by clicking here.

Creative Royston Management Committee (CRMC)

Our management committee are all unpaid volunteers who give freely of their services and are committed to celebrate and encourage local creativity all year round as well as staging the annual Royston Arts Festival. Two of the four office-holders for the committee (Chair, Secretary, Treasurer & Vice-Chair) for 2025 were elected at the AGM on Tuesday 21st January and the composition of the current committee is as shown below: 

Chair & Website Administrator : Carl Filby

Secretary: Vacancy

Treasurer: Fran Foster

Vice-Chair: Vacancy

Book Fair Organiser: Phil Oddy

Community Liaison: Liz Cox

Marketing & Social Media: Cath Boughton

Town Council Rep:  Councillor Mary Antony

Volunteer Coordinator: Ivana Kisegi