Darren Henley

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For the American drummer, see D. H. Peligro.

Darren Richard Henley CBE, born February 1973, is the Chief Executive of Arts Council England[1][2] and an author of books about the arts. He is a member of the UK government's Creative Industries Council.[3]

Education[edit]

He attended St Edmund's School Canterbury,[4] and is a graduate of the University of Hull (BA Hons, politics), the University of South Wales (MSc, management), the University of Buckingham (MA, history of art), Middlesex University (DProf professional doctorate examining the role of the outsider as an agent for change), Buckinghamshire New University (MSc, applied positive psychology) and Henley Business School (PGCert, coaching and behavioural change). He holds an FLCM fellowship diploma from the London College of Music at the University of West London.[5]

Career[edit]

Between 1989 and 1994, he worked as a freelance radio journalist for stations including Invicta FM, LBC, and Classic FM (UK), first working for Classic FM in 1992 as a weekend and overnight newsreader before becoming programme editor of the station's Classic Newsnight programme in 1995.[6] He was made News Manager in 1996, Programme Manager in 1999, Managing Editor in 2000, Station Manager in 2004 and Managing Director in 2006.[7] In 2014, he was announced as the new Chief Executive of Arts Council England, succeeding Alan Davey.

In this post, in 2022 he presided over his organisation's funding cuts to established arts companies - notably the removal of English National Opera from the national portfolio of funded organisations - and caused further furore in the operatic world by suggesting that operatic performance in England and Wales needed to move away from theatres, as "A new generation of audiences is embracing opera and music theatre presented in new ways: opera in car parks, opera in pubs, opera on your tablet".[8] [1][2]

The cuts of £50m centred on London and included long-established producers of new writing, Stockroom, the Donmar Theatre and the Hampstead Theatre.[9]

Government reviews[edit]

In 2011, he undertook an independent review of the funding and delivery of music education in England for the Department for Education and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport of the UK government.[10] The following year, he authored an independent review of cultural education in England for the same two government departments.[11] He was a member of the Scottish Government's Instrumental Music Group, which published a report into instrumental music tuition in Scotland in 2013.[12]

Music and cultural education[edit]

From 2007 to 2010, he chaired the Music Manifesto Partnership and Advocacy Group, set up by Education Minister Andrew Adonis as part of a government-backed campaign to improve young people's music education in England.[13] From 2013 to 2015, he co-chaired the government's Cultural Education Board, first with Schools Minister Liz Truss MP and Culture Minister Ed Vaizey MP and then with Nick Gibb MP and Ed Vaizey MP.[14] His other arts related roles have included Chair of the Mayor of London's Music Education Task Force,[15] Patron of the Mayor of London's Fund for Young Musicians,[16] member of the governing body of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music,[17] trustee and Vice-President of the Canterbury Festival[18] and Commissioner on the University of Warwick's Commission on the Future of Cultural Value.[19]

Books[edit]

Henley has written or co-written thirty books on arts related subjects,[7] including the Sunday Times bestselling Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Classical Music...But Were Too Afraid To Ask[20] and an official history of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.[21] He is the co-author of The Virtuous Circle: Why Creativity and Cultural Education Count[22] and the author of The Arts Dividend: Why Investment in Culture Pays[23] and Creativity: Why It Matters.[24]

Honours and awards[edit]

Henley's audiobook for children The Story of Classical Music was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2005.[25] He was a Finalist in the Station Programmer category at the Sony Radio Academy Awards in 2008[26] and was named Commercial Radio Programmer of the Year at the Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards in 2009,[27] having been nominated in the same category in 2007.[28] Classic FM won the UK Station of the Year Category at the Sony Radio Academy Awards in 2007,[29] the Music Programming Gold Award in 2009,[30] a Special Award to mark the station's 20th anniversary in 2012[31] and the inaugural UK Radio Brand of the Year Gold Award in 2013.[32] At the Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards, Classic FM was named Station of the Year in the TSA 1 million+ category in 2011,[33] while Henley and Classic FM jointly won the Arqiva Gold Award in 2012.[34] The station also won a Classic BRIT Award in 2012[35] and a Royal Philharmonic Society Award in 2013.[36] Henley was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 1998,[7] a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute in 2009,[37] an Honorary Fellow of Canterbury Christ Church University in 2010,[38] an Honorary Fellow of Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in 2011,[39] a Fellow of the Radio Academy in 2011,[40] an Honorary Member of the Royal Northern College of Music in 2012,[41] an Honorary Member of the Incorporated Society of Musicians in 2013,[42] an Honorary Fellow of Liverpool John Moores University in 2014,[43] an honorary fellow of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama[44] in 2015, an honorary member of the Royal College of Music[45] in 2016, a companion of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts[46] in 2016 and an honorary fellow of Arts University Bournemouth[47] in 2017. He holds honorary doctorates from the University of Hull,[48] Birmingham City University,[49] Buckinghamshire New University,[50] the University of the Arts London,[51] York St John University,[52] the University of Sunderland[53] and Manchester Metropolitan University[54] and an honorary MA from the University for the Creative Arts.[55] He was awarded the Sir Charles Groves Prize for "his outstanding contribution to British music" in 2013[56] and the President's Medal by the British Academy for the humanities and social sciences in 2015[57] for "his contributions to music education, music research, and the arts".

He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to music[58][59] and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to the arts.[60]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "New Chief Executive of Arts Council England announced". Arts Council England. 16 December 2014. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  2. ^ a b Christiansen, Rupert (17 December 2014). "Can this man save the arts in England?". The Daily Telegraph.
  3. ^ "Creative Industries Council".
  4. ^ TES (undated)"Ace Pilot beat the Doctors", (undated)
  5. ^ "Who's Who". www.ukwhoswho.com. Archived from the original on 2010-05-07.
  6. ^ Burrell, Ian (3 September 2012). "Darren Henley: The radio boss with a plan to drag classical music into the digital era". The Independent.
  7. ^ a b c "Darren Henley, Esq, OBE". Debrett's. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  8. ^ "We don't want to bring down the curtain on ENO, but opera has to change | Darren Henley". the Guardian. 2022-11-14. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  9. ^ Wood, Alex (4 November 2022). "Donmar Warehouse and more lose NPO status". WhatsOnstage.
  10. ^ "Music Education in England – A Review By Darren Henley". Department for Education and Department for Culture, Media & Sport. 7 February 2011.
  11. ^ "Cultural Education in England – Independent Review By Darren Henley". Department for Education and Department for Culture, Media & Sport. 29 February 2012.
  12. ^ "Schools: School curriculum and qualifications - gov.scot".
  13. ^ "Latest News from Music Teacher Magazine". Archived from the original on 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2013-12-30.
  14. ^ "House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 14 Oct 2013 (Pt 0007)".
  15. ^ "Making Music Matter | Greater London Authority". Archived from the original on 2013-12-31. Retrieved 2013-12-30.
  16. ^ "Music has the power to change lives | London Music Fund | Music Education Charity".
  17. ^ "ABRSM: Press releases and articles". Archived from the original on 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2013-12-30.
  18. ^ "Canterbury Festival". Archived from the original on 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2013-12-30.
  19. ^ "Commissioners - Henley".
  20. ^ "Classic FM's book on Sunday Times bestseller list". Classic FM. 31 July 2012.
  21. ^ Henley, Darren; McKernan, Vincent (2009). The Original Liverpool Sound. Liverpool University Press. ISBN 9781846312243.
  22. ^ Sorrell, John; Roberts, Paul; Henley, Darren (2014). The Virtuous Circle: Why Creativity and Cultural Education Count. Elliott & Thompson. ISBN 9781783961122.
  23. ^ Henley, Darren (2015). The Arts Dividend: Why Investment in Culture Pays. Elliott & Thompson. ISBN 9781783962778.
  24. ^ Henley, Darren (2018). Creativity: Why It Matters. Elliott & Thompson. ISBN 9781783963782.
  25. ^ "Naxos earns 14 Grammy Award nominations". Naxos. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  26. ^ Guardian Staff (2008-04-10). "Sony Radio Academy awards 2008 nominations". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
  27. ^ McCabe, Maisie (8 June 2009). "TalkSport, Classic and Star win double gongs at Arqiva awards". Media Week.
  28. ^ Oatts, Joanne (2 July 2007). "In full: Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards winners". Digital Spy.
  29. ^ "Sony Radio Academy Awards 2007 winners". TheGuardian.com. May 2007.
  30. ^ "Sony Radio Academy Awards 2009: Full list of winners". TheGuardian.com. 12 May 2009.
  31. ^ "Sony Radio Awards 2012: Winners in full". Digital Spy. 15 May 2012.
  32. ^ "Sony Radio Awards 2013 winners in full". Digital Spy. 14 May 2013.
  33. ^ "Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards 2011 - the winners". Digital Spy. 7 July 2011.
  34. ^ "Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards 2012 winners announced". Archived from the original on 2015-07-02. Retrieved 2014-09-29.
  35. ^ "Classic FM wins Special Recognition Classic BRIT Award 2012".
  36. ^ "Royal Philharmonic Society 2013 winners announced".
  37. ^ "Directory of Companions 2011/12" (PDF). Chartered Management Institute. March 2011.
  38. ^ "Darren Henley and Leyland Ridings are appointed Honorary Fellows". Canterbury Christ Church University. 20 December 2010. Archived from the original on 2013-12-31.
  39. ^ "Honorary Fellows". Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. Archived from the original on 22 May 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  40. ^ "Fellows". The Radio Academy. Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  41. ^ "RNCM Announces its 2012 Fellows and Honorary Members". Royal Northern College of Music. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  42. ^ "ISM announces five new honorary members | Incorporated Society of Musicians". Archived from the original on 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2013-12-30.
  43. ^ "Sorry the page could not be found".
  44. ^ "Graduation: Class of 2015 at the Guildhall School".
  45. ^ "HRH the Prince of Wales Presents Honours During Annual Visit".
  46. ^ "Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts".
  47. ^ "Honorary Fellows - Arts University Bournemouth (formerly AUCB)". aub.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 2013-03-26.
  48. ^ "Honorary Graduates' Profiles - University of Hull". Archived from the original on 2014-07-29. Retrieved 2014-11-30.
  49. ^ "Birmingham City University : Graduation Ceremonies - Recent Honorary Graduates". Archived from the original on 2015-03-19. Retrieved 2014-11-30.
  50. ^ "Leading lights to receive honorary degrees during Bucks New University's Graduation Week". Archived from the original on 2014-09-13. Retrieved 2014-11-30.
  51. ^ "Stories". 26 November 2020.
  52. ^ "2019".
  53. ^ "Honour for arts guru". 11 July 2019.
  54. ^ "2021 Honorary Graduates". Manchester Metropolitan University. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
  55. ^ "Blogs | University for the Creative Arts".
  56. ^ "Sir Charles Groves Prize 2013". Making Music. 8 April 2013. Archived from the original on 2012-11-26.
  57. ^ "News Item - British Academy". www.britac.ac.uk. Retrieved 2015-11-07.
  58. ^ "No. 60367". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 2012. p. 11.
  59. ^ "OBE award for Classic FM's Darren Henley". Radio Today. 29 December 2012.
  60. ^ "No. 63714". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 2022. p. B9.
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