The British musician, pedagogue and frequent contributor to The Strad will take up the post in September
The Yehudi Menuhin School (YMS) in Surrey, UK, has announced that violist Rosalind Ventris has been appointed as its next director of music. She will take up the post in September 2025, succeeding Ashley Wass, and will become the first female director of music in YMS history.
An international soloist and chamber musician, Ventris is currently director of performance at Oxford University, professor of viola at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and artistic director of the Cowbridge Music Festival. She is also a frequent contributor to The Strad.
‘Rosalind is a proven performer and pedagogue of the highest order, but, even more importantly, she is a deeply empathetic person who wholeheartedly supports Menuhin’s ideals for the school and for the role of music in shaping a better world,’ said YMS head Robin Harskin.
Commenting on the appointment, Ventris said: ‘Menuhin’s holistic ethos when he set up the school, fusing artistic excellence with social conscience and intellectual curiosity, is one I believe in passionately as a musician and educator. I am so excited to take Menuhin’s vision forward into the future, working alongside the school’s talented staff and students. I feel enormously privileged to be entrusted with this role to nurture and empower these exceptional young musicians.’
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