Founder
Lesley’s experience when her daughter Jessie was in a children’s hospice made her aware of how many children struggle to communicate: it was clear to her how music could help these children. Lesley founded and directed Jessie’s Fund from 1994 to 2023, growing its impact and reach across the UK and into other educational and healthcare settings for those nearly 30 years. As a clarinettist Lesley has worked in a range of music-making – from working with Stockhausen to touring extensively with orchestras such as the English Baroque Soloists and the Academy of Ancient Music. She teaches at the University of York: in 2006 that institution awarded her an honorary doctorate, and in 2021 she was awarded Honorary Membership of the Royal Northern College of Music. Her incredible work with Jessie’s Fund was recognised in 2025, when she was awarded an OBE for Services to Children with Life-Limiting Illnesses and Communication Difficulties.
