Jo Towler
Currently Chief Executive of Music in the Round, the leading national promoter of chamber music, Jo has been working in the arts for over 20 years. Previously she was Executive Director of Candoco Dance Company and Protein Dance, and has worked in finance, marketing and administration at the London Mozart Players and Philharmonia Orchestra. She is Chair of Classical Sheffield and on the boards of Sheffield Culture Consortium, Sheffield Culture Collective and Sheffield Music Hub as well as being a trustee of Orchestras Live.
Jo is a horn player, and was a member of many ensembles, including Leeds Youth Orchestra and the National Youth Wind Orchestra, before going on to read music at Edinburgh University, where she was awarded a Fellowship to study at Tanglewood Music Center, USA. She subsequently studied at the Royal College of Music, London, and still performs with ensembles in Yorkshire and across the country.ensembles in Yorkshire and across the country.
Music in the Round is the leading national promoter of chamber music, with a year-round programme of hundreds of events for people of all ages.
For nearly 40 years we have been bringing people and music closer together through our friendly and informative style of ‘in the round’ performances. We present concerts and the Sheffield Chamber Music Festival each year at our home venue, the Crucible Theatre Playhouse, as well as events and learning & participation activity across the city and in partnership with venues around the country. We reach around 25,000 people each year, of which 10,000 are aged 0-19.
Our concerts are characterised by passion, excellence and proximity. We connect people to music by presenting music in intimate venues, sitting audiences just metres away from amazing artists playing spine-tingling music with their heart and soul, often accompanied by lively spoken introductions.