Trustee profiles

Richard Mann graduated in Electronic and Electrical Engineering in 1960 and spent all his professional career working for major multinational electronics companies.  In 1970 he became one of the first volunteers to join the Wavendon Allmusic Plan (WAP – the charity founded in 1969 by John Dankworth and Cleo Laine – where he became  closely involved in the technical aspects of the “Allmusic” productions given in the original stable block of  the Dankworths’ home in Wavendon, Milton Keynes.  In due course Richard became a trustee of WAP and, its chairman from 1992 to 2000 – the period when WAP was building the highly successful theatre now known as “The Stables”. On retiring as a WAP trustee he was invited to become a trustee of The Wavendon Foundation (WF)  and has served on the board continuously since then.  He is currently its chairman.

Ken Chaproniere spent a number of years at BBC Radio 3 (presentation) in London, before joining the English Bach Festival as assistant to the artistic director, Lina Lalandi OBE, where amongst other things he arranged concerts in London and Oxford. He then worked for a short time for the impresario Victor Hocchauser planning and overseeing the weekly orchestral concerts at the Royal Albert Hall.

Later he worked as general manager of the Wavendon All Music Plan in Milton Keynes managing the Stables Theatre, Wavendon where he remained for ten happy years until he was invited by Richard Baker to be general manager of the London Bach Orchestra. His main task at the orchestra was to plan an annual season of concerts at the South Bank Concert Halls. Following this he was asked to manage Milton Keynes Chamber Orchestra (now Milton Keynes City Orchestra) before a period spent as a freelance arts manager.

During this time he worked for the British Youth Opera as its Development Manager, raising funding to support the company’s annual summer programme of opera at Covent Garden and the Queen Elizabeth Hall. He did this on a part time basis and at the same time worked as General Manager of the International Organ Festival in St Albans planning the biannual programme of concerts and organ competitions. During this time he was asked by Sir John Dankworth and Dame Cleo Laine to become a Trustee of the Wavendon Foundation.

Kevin Whately is best known for his performances in long-running popular TV shows, AUF WIEDERSEHEN,PET ; INSPECTOR MORSE ;PEAK PRACTICE and LEWIS.

An actor for 40 years, he has appeared in West End theatre shows, and taken part in Garden Festivals and Christmas shows at Wavendon. He is a trustee for The Winship Foundation, and is an Ambassador for Plan International, The Prince’s Trust, The Alzheimer’s Society, and NCH Action for Children.

Marcus Blake is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and a Fellow of the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers. He was born only a few miles from Wavendon and brought up on the northern edge of Milton Keynes.

Over the years Marcus has advised landowners, farmers and charities on a broad spectrum of land related matters – including the promotion of land for development. In 2014 Marcus began working with the trustees of the Wavendon Foundation. The objective was to seek residential development on a parcel of land in Milton Keynes previously gifted to the Wavendon Foundation’s by its founders – John Dankworth and Cleo Laine. In 2017 this land was sold for development and the monies generated from the land sale now form part of the fund used for grants awarded by the Wavendon Foundation.

Once Marcus had successfully concluded his role as property advisor to the Wavendon Foundation he was then invited in 2018 to become a trustee of the Wavendon Foundation.

British Jazz Awards winner Alec Dankworth is the bass player son of Sir John Dankworth and Dame Cleo Laine. After studying at Berklee College of Music, he became a member of various groups in the UK – notably the Clark Tracey Quintet, the Julian Joseph Quartet and Nigel Kennedy.

In 1995 Alec joined the Van Morrison group touring Europe and America and recording three albums, including The Healing Game. 1997 saw a move to New York, where he performed with the Duke Ellington Orchestra with a residency at ‘Birdland’. A year later Alec joined The Dave Brubeck Quartet, performing Quartet, Pops and Choral concerts including the New Orleans Jazz Festival and Carnegie Hall. Returning to London in 2001, Alec worked with John Dankworth and Cleo Laine and has performed regularly at the annual ‘Music in the Garden’ festivals held in aid of the Wavendon Foundation of which he has been a trustee since 2009.

In 2012 Alec joined Ginger Baker’s Jazz Confusion, featuring Pee Wee Ellis. Alec currently runs various groups including Spanish Accents, The Million Dollar Band and most recently World Spirit featuring Emily Dankworth on vocals. Alec also works with Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, and with Zoe Rahman, and teaches at the Guildhall School of Music.

Laurence Holden is a qualified accountant, recently retired from The Open University as its Group Finance Director. He is an Honorary Associate at the University in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Previously he worked at the Milton Keynes Development Corporation, and in early career spent several years at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, where he was accountant for the Royal Ballet.
Laurence graduated in music many years ago, and has continued varied and happy amateur music making ever since. He was treasurer to the Milton Keynes Chorale, and co-founder of the Open University orchestra.
He has recently taken over as Treasurer for the Wavendon Foundation.