Roger Wright CBE Knighted in HM The King’s Birthday Honors

By Afton Markay
(Photo credit: Dan Nickells)

Roger Wright CBE, the chief executive of Britten Pears Arts, has been awarded a knighthood in HM The King’s Birthday Honors List for Services to Music.

In 1978, Wright began his career at the British Music Information Centre. He worked as a freelance writer and broadcaster with specialist knowledge of British 20th century music, and held positions at the Cleveland Orchestra and at Deutsche Grammophon. At the BBC, Wright served as Senior Producer at the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Head of Classical Music, the Controller of BBC Radio 3, and Director of the BBC Proms.

Throughout his tenure, which began in 2014, Wright led the purchase of the Snape Maltings (formerly Aldeburgh Music) site in 2015 and the merger of the Britten Pears Foundation and Snape Maltings to form Britten Pears Arts. He has organized the running of the annual Aldeburgh Festival, commissioning new works, has supporting local and regional music education, and much more. Through the pandemic and challenging economic times, Wright remained focused on presenting music to live audiences. At the end of July, Wright will pass the chief executive baton to Andrew Comben.

In a press release Wright commented, “I am really humbled to be awarded this honor. I am privileged to work with a remarkable team of colleagues at Britten Pears Arts and this award is as much a recognition for their hard work and commitment as it is for me. We all believe strongly in the power of music and the arts to transform people’s lives and it has been a deep joy for me to lead this unique organization over the last decade.”

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