Heather Phillips
CEO
Heather set up Choirs Beating Time in 2014. Having established over 25 Office Choirs in her first solo venture “SingingWorks” she wanted to give that same sense of community…
Heather set up Choirs Beating Time in 2014. Having established over 25 Office Choirs in her first solo venture “SingingWorks” she wanted to give that same sense of community and creative confidence to people serving sentences. Her first career was in law. For 10 years she was a corporate finance partner in a London Law Firm, financing TV shows, like Bob The Builder. She then invested in a client’s start up and was an active Director of The Listening Company which had over 3000 employees when sold. She is an enthusiastic (exceptionally amateur!) musician.
“I’ve been part of some great professional teams, but it was as a member of a Community Choir that I felt the disproportionate strength of a team that makes music together. I believe, the strength of “choir” comes down to trust: being trusted, trusting others and trusting ourselves. As a lawyer I was lucky to work with many amazing entrepreneurial people. Each of them was creative, courageous and a natural communicator. Our Entrepreneurs Programme, UpStart grew out of a recognition that many of our Singers share those strengths, along with an appetite for risk. Inside Job is UpStart’s first business, a recruitment consultancy run by a serving prisoner for prisoners: its founder Jonathan is an inspiration”
Rachel Mace
Director
Rachel was a real estate lawyer for 15 years and a former partner at global law firm, Mayer Brown. She joined Beating Time in 2016 first as a volunteer and then as a Director.
Rachel was a real estate lawyer for 15 years and a former partner at global law firm, Mayer Brown. She joined Beating Time in 2016 first as a volunteer and then as a Director.
Rachel works alongside Heather on the day-to-day running of the charity and also heads up our Kent prisons project. She is a keen amateur musician.
“Many of us turn to music in times of stress. Prison is one of the most stressful environments imaginable for most people. As successive prison inspectors keep telling successive governments, our prisons are dangerous, dirty and drug ridden. It’s difficult to remain a recognisable version of yourself in prison. It’s even harder to summon the self-belief necessary to attempt to get your life back on track. I’m proud of the work we do being a reliable positive presence every week for people serving sentences: gradually building up their confidence to claim a place back in their communities.”
SALLY DEBIAGE
Midlands Manager
Sally runs our 4, shortly to be 6, prison projects in the Midlands. Sally has spent her life working with people on the margins, often using the Arts to engage people to build…
Sally runs our 4, shortly to be 6, prison projects in the Midlands. Sally has spent her life working with people on the margins, often using the Arts to engage people to build the relationships necessary to offer practical help.
As well as working for Beating Time she is the Manager of The Choir With No Name, a 50 strong homeless choir in Birmingham. Every week she mobilizes a small army of volunteers and professional musicians to enable its members to sing and eat together – and access other forms of support. Prior to that she worked for several Housing Associations in Birmingham, helping people set up home and maintain their tenancies. After Theatre School, she worked with children suffering family breakdown, using the creative Arts to help them access and process difficult emotions.
Sarah Rigby
Bookkeeper
Sarah is our bookkeeper, numbers person and banker. Sarah teaches Maths and does a variety of financial work as a freelancer.
Sarah is our bookkeeper, numbers person and banker. Sarah teaches Maths and does a variety of financial work as a freelance. Before that she worked as a programmer in the City.
Following the imprisonment of a family member she decided she wanted to be involved, in some way, with prison reform. Keeping us straight financially is her practical and invaluable contribution to Beating Time.
“My personal experience convinced me that any of us can end up behind bars. One bad decision, impulsive reaction, ill-chosen friend…The experience was traumatic for him and the whole family. It went far beyond a loss of freedom, livelihood and family. My relative was lucky. We ensured he came out to a home and a job. Beating Time aspires to create something close to family for many of the people we work with, being there for them, without fail, every week and being proactive about how we can help people. ”
Jon Floyd
Inside Job Co-Founder/Employment Consultant
Jon is the co-creator of Inside Job. He conceived the idea of a peer-led recruitment consultancy on an UpStart programme in HMP Birmingham in 2019…
Jon is the co-creator of Inside Job. He conceived the idea of a peer-led recruitment consultancy on an UpStart programme in HMP Birmingham in 2019. He saw that many people in prison wanted to work, but they lacked confidence that anyone would employ them once they had a conviction. He also realised that many people in prison do not engage with the official agencies that are meant to help them, but would rather trust their peers, who have a shared lived experience of prison.
Jon was released from prison in September 2022 after a 7-year sentence. He hit the ground running by joining the rest of the Inside Job community team. His goal is to use his own lived experience to better support those returning from prison, starting with building hope and trust inside.
“Lots of people I came across in prison want to work and contribute to society, but do not believe they will be allowed the opportunity to do so. For a significant portion of the prison population, societal exclusion starts long before they step foot inside these walls, so supporting them on the inside can dramatically improve their success on the outside.”
Shelley Ballard
Employment Consultant
Shelley’s background is in support and early intervention, mainly working with women who have served sentences and young people at risk of offending.
Shelley’s background is in support and early intervention, mainly working with women who have served sentences and young people at risk of offending. She has also served a sentence herself, which means she has both personal and professional experience of the criminal justice system.
“It is difficult to sit in front of an employer knowing you have to disclose a conviction – it becomes like an elephant in the room. What I love about Inside Job is that the employers we work with are aware that our candidates have convictions prior to the interview, so it takes away that difficult conversation and focuses on what they can bring to the job. There are so many highly skilled and passionate people in the prison system that would be an asset to any employer – they just need the opportunity!”
Caprice Roberts
Employment Consultant
Caprice is our young people employment consultant and mentor. She started her career in accounting, completing a five-year degree apprenticeship…
Caprice is our young people employment consultant and mentor. She started her career in accounting, completing a five-year degree apprenticeship with a top firm. While training, she volunteered for charity helping disadvantaged young people, including those who had recently come out of prison, to get smart clothing for job interviews. Inspired by her time volunteering and looking for a career change, [CONTINUE READING] Caprice went on the Unlocked Graduates programme, which combines a master’s degree with prison officer training. It was during her placement in HMP/YOI Brinsford as an officer that she met Bally and the Inside Job team.
Now, Caprice is combining her professional experience in both the corporate world and the prison system to help people serving sentences find employment. Caprice looks after our candidates in Brinsford and Swinfen Hall, using her experience to guide and mentor young people when they leave prison and into work.
“Having facilitated Inside Job from the prison side I have seen how having someone believe in you when you’re serving a sentence is so important in building self-confidence. I have seen how hope spreads like wildfire after an Inside Job interview surgery in prison – people see their peers getting job offers in person and believe that it can happen to them too. It’s truly motivating!”
MUSICAL DIRECTORS
Pete Churchill
Head of the Musical Team
Pete began conducting choirs an as organ scholar at Oxford. Since then he has devoted himself to community music making in schools…
Pete began conducting choirs an as organ scholar at Oxford. Since then he has devoted himself to community music making in schools, mental health settings, prisons and with the homeless. He is also the Musical Director of the Award Winning homeless Choir “Choir with No Name”. A musical chameleon he plays all genres of music and multiple instruments. Pete heads up our Choirs Beating Time programme in the Midlands. As well as several Choirs, he runs a therapeutic mental health project in HMP Birmingham, Family Days and records programmes for Prison Radio. He founded Free Spiritz, our group “on the out” to enable people to continue making music post release.
“Music transforms us all. In prison, it can change the way people see and understand themselves and the way other people experience them. My job is to help people know they are valued and make them part of something they are proud of. ”
www.peterchurchill.co.uk | www.choirwithnoname.org |www.musicalconnections.info
Gina Baker
Musical Director
Gina studied singing at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and is passionate about connecting people through music. She works…
Gina studied singing at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and is passionate about connecting people through music. She works with Pete running our Choirs in HMP’s Birmingham and Rye Hill.
She also runs an NHS choir and a community choir for Cheltenham Music Festivals. She volunteers for the homeless project “Choir With No Name”. Gina also teaches singing and is the vocal coach for the University of Leicester Chorus. Although classically trained, Gina has a versatile voice and enjoys singing Jazz, Musical Theatre and Pop.
“We have some really talented musicians in our Choirs with fantastic voices. I get a lot out of helping people discover different versions of themselves through music. I am learning all the time from this great musical team and pushing myself and our choirs to be ever more creative and ambitious ”
Amelia Carr
Music Director
Amelia is a singer, voice coach and singing teacher whose career is mainly in Musical Theatre. She has an MA in Musical Pedagogy.
Amelia is a singer, voice coach and singing teacher whose career is mainly in Musical Theatre. She has an MA in Musical Pedagogy. She runs our only female Choir “The Stone Maidens”.
Amelia trained in Musical Theatre and has appeared in many roles including as Sandy in Grease, Kathy in Singing In The Rain and Maria in The Sound of Music. She ran a performing arts school for 12 years and still trains young people for professional Musical Theatre careers. With her policeman husband, she organises a weekly community soup run for the homeless.
“Prison affects women in a different way to men. It rocks the foundation of their identity as carers and nurturers. Their confidence evaporates. I love bringing people out of themselves, finding their biggest voice and boldest performance. Women in prison really need to discover that within themselves and take strength and confidence from it.”
Claire Fowler
Musical Director
Claire is a Professional Singer, Singing for Health and Well-Being Practitioner, Community Choir Leader and Vocal Coach.
Claire is a Professional Singer, Singing for Health and Well-Being Practitioner, Community Choir Leader and Vocal Coach.
Claire teaches singing in schools and runs three Community Choirs. She also works with groups of people affected by various health issues including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and Chronic Lung Health problems. Claire has co-written a singing for health and wellbeing course for an online college and is the main tutor for the course.
Prior to embarking on her singing career, Claire worked for the National Probation Service qualifying as a Probation Officer in 2003 and remained in the role until 2016. She worked in the community managing high and medium risk offenders subject to Community Orders and License periods. As a result of her work in this area, Claire has a thorough understanding of the issues faced by offenders within the Criminal Justice System and has a keen interest in using singing and music as an aid to rehabilitation.
Suzie Purkis
Musical Director
Suzie runs a busy teaching practice, giving voice coaching to students of all ages alongside her work as a professional singer and performer.
Suzie runs a busy teaching practice, giving voice coaching to students of all ages alongside her work as a professional singer and performer. She is Musical Director of Welsh National Opera’s Youth Opera in Birmingham and also works freelance delivering singing workshops for organisations including Music of Life Foundation, Choir with No Name and Birmingham Opera Company.
She visits Royal Birmingham Conservatoire leading workshops for student composers on writing for voice and performs works written for her by them. She is passionate about helping people find their voice and discover greater vocal freedom as singing is therapeutic and makes the world a better place. Science says so!
Ciara Considine
Musical Director
Ciara began conducting in 2009 and now conducts around 450 people in choirs catering for people of all ages and backgrounds.
Ciara began conducting in 2009 and now conducts around 450 people in choirs catering for people of all ages and backgrounds. Ciara works with our prison choirs in Kent. She founded the Maidstone Voices community choir and is the Music Director of the all-female Vigo Singers and the large mixed-voice choir, East Malling Singers.
After getting her Bachelors’ degree in Music, she went on to gain both a Postgraduate Diploma and a Masters’ degree in Music Performance (Piano) at the RNCM. She is also a trained concert pianist. Ciara formed the youth choir ‘MYMS Voices’ and conducts the prestigious Kent Youth Choir. She also worked with Gareth Malone on the 2014 BBC2 series, Sing While You Work, as she was the ‘behind-the-scenes’ conductor of the P&O Ferries choir, who won the TV series competition.
Martha Littlehales
Musical Director
Martha studied Music at The University of Birmingham and is a proponent for musical accessibility.
Martha studied Music at The University of Birmingham and is a proponent for musical accessibility. A keen pianist, singer and choral conductor, she recently left her position as a music educator in a leading Cambridge school and has since pursued musical opportunities promoting inclusivity.
Recently, she has assumed an internship with the organisation, Together Productions, where she has worked with choirs such as the mental health choir Mind and Soul, the community choir The Mixed-Up Chorus and Sing For Freedom, a choir for torture survivors in their massed choir project, Singing Our Lives. She is also a keen ukulele player, guitarist and songwriter. She thoroughly enjoys working with Pete at HMP Stafford and has been lucky enough to see the first-hand benefits of its community singing with its very enthusiastic choir!
Gladstone Wilson
Musical Director
With a gift for all areas of singing and music and a passion for helping others, Gladstone is a world class vocal coach..
With a gift for all areas of singing and music and a passion for helping others, Gladstone is a world class vocal coach who is comfortable teaching all ages and abilities, from beginners right through to professional working artists.
Gladstone trained at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire where he later stepped seamlessly into the role of tutor, passing on his extensive knowledge as Head Lecturer of the Applied Performance Theatre Course.
Gladstone boasts a career glittered with many prominent highlights across many fields of the music industry, from producing musical arrangements for ITV’s X Factor, recording and editing music for esteemed record labels in the UK and Europe, and supporting well-known artists as a session musician. As a Musical Director, Gladstone has directed and produced a wide range of high-quality shows for various theatre and musical groups, including the Young Rep Theatre and Youth Rep Choir.
Gavin Alexander
Musical Director
Gavin is a singer, songwriter and music teacher (guitar and ukulele). He trained at Newcastle College of Music where he also worked with local community projects in theatre and song writing…
Gavin is a singer, songwriter and music teacher (guitar and ukulele). He trained at Newcastle College of Music where he also worked with local community projects in theatre and song writing.
Gavin works with our prison choirs in Kent. He is part of Kent’s rich music scene performing with groups and as a soloist. His song writing credits include well-known groups such as the Flying Pickets. As well as his own professional collaborations and commissions, he delivers collaborative song writing workshops for diverse groups including schools, care homes and community projects.
Gavin is passionate about using singing & song writing to create a safe space for people to step outside of their comfort zone and, particularly for men, to be able to find ways to express their emotions through creativity.
Sharon Mari
Musical Director
Sharon is a singer, singing teacher, vocal health coach and song writer. As well as performing regularly with her own band and for others across Kent and England…
Sharon is a singer, singing teacher, vocal health coach and song writer. As well as performing regularly with her own band and for others across Kent and England, she teaches singing in schools and at undergraduate level (at BIMM, London). Sharon works with our prison choirs in Kent. Her main specialism is in contemporary commercial music styles and performance.
Sharon leads workshops and masterclasses focused on vocal health and technique. She has presented her research at both UK and International conferences. She has an MA in vocal pedagogy and works with the Lewisham Voice Clinic. Sharon is an advocate of the power of singing together, technique, breathing and meditation techniques to transform mental health and build positive communities.
OUR TRUSTEES
DR ElENI SKORDAKI
Eleni runs ES Real Estate Finance and is one of London’s most highly respected Property Finance Advisers. She was Head of Real Estate Finance at London Law Firm, Olswang.
Eleni runs ES Real Estate Finance and is one of London’s most highly respected Property Finance Advisers. She was Head of Real Estate Finance at London Law Firm, Olswang for almost a decade. She holds a PhD in Economics from LSE. She has championed the setting up of Choirs at both Olswang and subsequently, Dechert. She used Choir at work as a tool to build team spirit and alleviate stress. She is a passionate believer that we are all inherently creative. She is also an amateur potter.
SEYMOUR ‘SAM’ EASTWOOD
Sam is a Partner at international law firm, Mayer Brown. His specialism is white collar crime, compliance and ethics. Sam has been interested in Prison Reform since he was a volunteer at…
Sam is a Partner at international law firm, Mayer Brown. His specialism is white collar crime, compliance and ethics. Sam has been interested in Prison Reform since he was a volunteer at HMP Leyhill whilst at university. He is a Trustee of Transparency International UK, an anti-corruption Charity and sits on the Management Committee of UCL’s Centre for Ethics and Law. He is also a member of the City of London’s White Collar Crime Committee.
HENRY FEATHERSTONE
Henry is UK Head of Public Affairs & Advocacy for Sanofi, a bio-pharmaceutical company. He is interested in improving public policy…
Henry is UK Head of Public Affairs & Advocacy for Sanofi, a bio-pharmaceutical company. He is interested in improving public policy.
Henry started his career as a NHS doctor He went onto work in Parliament for a number of MPs across health, housing and defense policy. He led the Health & Social Care Unit for think-tank, Policy Exchange. Henry holds degrees in both Medicine and Law, and most recently completed an MSc in Health Economics at LSE. He needs to improve his singing.
ALBERTO GONZALEZ
For 17 years Alberto travelled the world, photographing jewellery for the international auction house, Christies. Drug addiction…
For 17 years Alberto travelled the world, photographing jewellery for the international auction house, Christies. Drug addiction led to a prison sentence.
Alberto joined our Choir in HMP Maidstone. He became its champion, recruiting others and organising concerts. He created harmony in a dark, discordant place. On release, he joined the Camberwell Community Choir. We helped him get a job at Snappy Snaps, where, over 2 years, he rebuilt his life. In 2020 he joined the team at Mayfair Jeweller, Bentley & Skinner, as a photographer. He embodies all we want to achieve.
Tom Snowden
Tom is a natural entrepreneur. He set up a car washing business at school, a livery business in East Yorkshire and a foodbank in…
Tom is a natural entrepreneur. He set up a car washing business at school, a livery business in East Yorkshire and a foodbank in Coventry at University and is now at BlackRock in a management role.
Tom previously worked for KPMG both in the UK and the USA. Whilst in New York he was seconded to Goldman Sachs. Tom studied Law at Warwick University. He comes from a two long lines of farmers and has seen many family members develop and diversify their businesses. He is one of our UpStart Business Mentors.
PAUL JACKSON
Paul is a Tax Director with KPMG. He first became involved in Beating Time through KPMG’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme, acting as a business …
Paul is a Tax Director with KPMG. He first became involved in Beating Time through KPMG’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme, acting as a business mentor for some of the men participating in UpStart.
Paul has a rather unconventional background for a Big 4 Tax Advisor, as he is a non-graduate who left school at 16 to attend art school. He still draws and paints now (in his spare time) and is a huge believer in the power of the arts to enrich lives and promote well-being. When he was introduced to Beating Time, he saw immediately how the two worlds of the arts and business can come together and change lives.
SIMON MORGAN
Simon is a corporate partner of London based law firm, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, advising media, tech and life science businesses.
Simon is a corporate partner of London based law firm, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, advising media, tech and life science businesses. He particularly enjoys working with individuals with new business models in these sectors.
Having sung as a child in school and church choirs, Simon had a long choral pause before becoming an enthusiastic participant in his office choir as well as being an occasional member of his church choir. He says that his best working hour in the week is the one he spends with his office choir. Simon sees organisations like Beating Time playing a key role in leading to better outcomes for many caught up in the Criminal Justice System.
OUR AMBASSADORS
ELIZABETH JIMENEZ
Elizabeth links families, and others affected by crime, and our singers at our concerts. She also works with Spanish speakers helping…
Elizabeth links families, and others affected by crime, and our singers at our concerts. She also works with Spanish speakers helping organise visits and keeping people in touch with their families following deportation She is passionate about increasing understanding and forgiveness driven by her own experience of the healing power of music to change lives. Her daughter, Maria, died in a fatal car crash in 2017. The young man driving the car was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving and sent to prison.
Read more here: The Forgiveness Project
EOIN MCLENNAN-MURRAY
Eoin served in 10 prisons in his 35-year career in the Prison Service and was President of the Prison Governors’ Association before his…
Eoin served in 10 prisons in his 35-year career in the Prison Service and was President of the Prison Governors’ Association before his retirement. Throughout his career he pioneered work, since replicated in many other Prisons, to help resettlement and reduce re-offending.
When Governor at HMP Blantyre House, a resettlement prison in Kent, it consistently had the lowest re-conviction rate of any prison in the UK. Since retirement he has maintained an active interest in the Criminal Justice arena and has served as Chair of The Howard League for Penal Reform.
JANE EVANS
Jane started working with Heather in 2014 and was instrumental in developing Beating Time from its earliest days. She has a…
Jane started working with Heather in 2014 and was instrumental in developing Beating Time from its earliest days. She has a particular interest in how the charity’s work supports the journey to employment on release.
Jane’s background is in Corporate Finance as a Director at KPMG and at Wates. Alongside Beating Time Jane helped start-up the innovative, tomato growing enterprise, Sterling Suffolk. In 2019, Jane became its full-time managing director. A keen supporter of Beating Time, she’s on the lookout for employment opportunities in the tomato growing business!
LADY VAL CORBETT
Lady Val Corbett is The Champion, Connector and Catalyst in Penal Reform today. Founder of The Corbett Network, she brings…
Lady Val Corbett is The Champion, Connector and Catalyst in Penal Reform today. Founder of The Corbett Network, she brings together hundreds of organisations to collaborate on this agenda.
Previously she was a journalist on national newspapers and magazines and a scriptwriter for BBC TV. She believes strongly in giving people “a hand up not a hand out”. Her late husband, Lord Robin Corbett of Castle Vale had substantial involvement with penal reform. In 2012, Lady Val established The Robin Corbett Award for Prisoner Rehabilitation in his memory.
WILL JENKYN-JONES
After graduating from Oxford with a degree in English, Will volunteered for us before becoming a social worker at Frontline.
After graduating from Oxford with a degree in English, Will volunteered for us before becoming a social worker at Frontline. As our ‘storyteller’, working collaboratively with prisoners serving sentences, Will curates articles for our blog and directed the film on our home page more… He is an avid observer, collector and preserver of stories of personal transformation. Will is a singer and musician, playing piano, clarinet and saxophone.
“I’ve spent many happy hours in the company of Beating Time’s Choirs. Like everyone, I arrived as a stranger, a man, with a voice who was willing to contribute whatever I could (and unsure what that was). I left each session feeling I’d played my part in something greater than the sum of all our parts. Somehow, the Music Directors, Singers and the Music work some alchemy together, which I experience as a powerful sense of “hope”. Talking to the men, I know they feel that too.”
OUR SPONSORS
MAJOR DONORS
Charitable Trusts
• Colyer Fergusson Charitable Trust
• Lloyds Bank Foundation
• People’s Postcode Lottery
• The Berkeley Foundation
• The Bromley Trust
• The Henry Oldfield Trust
• The Rayne Foundation
• The Swire Charitable Trust
• Tudor Trust
Corporate Supporters
• G4S
• KPMG
• Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
Individuals
• Mr & Mrs Andrew Phillips
Funders
• HMPPS
DONORS
The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust
Alchemy Foundation
Allen Lane Foundation
Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation
British Humane Association
Brook Trust
The Clothworkers’ Company
Dentons UKMEA LLP
Didymus Charitable Trust
The Drapers Company
Edward Cadbury Charitable Trust
The Eveson Trust
The GIL Charitable Trust
Greenhall Foundation
Heart of England Community Foundation
Hilden Charitable Trust
Jill Franklin Trust
KW Charitable Trust
Mr J Hayes
Mr T Snowden
Mrs V Briggs
Mr K Bullard
Mr & Mrs T Inglis
Marsh Christian Trust
The National Lottery Community Fund
Oxford Orpheus
Michael and Shirley Hunt Charitable Trust
Santander Foundation
St James Place Capital
West Midlands Chorus
Wharfedale Foundation
Woodward Charitable Trust
Worshipful Company of Weavers
Thank You!
We are extremely grateful to all our Donors for their generous support, for what is a challenging cause.
We also want to extend out thanks to the players of the People’s Postcode Lottery whose generosity entirely funds the People’s Postcode Trust.
We pride ourselves on being a very lean and agile organisation that runs on the commitment and talent of its people. We make extensive use of volunteers and are particularly grateful to Mrs Ros Fox and KPMG for the significant contribution they make.