John Osborn and the Osborn Director of Music

Sidney Sussex enthusiastically announces the new fully-endowed post of Osborn Director of Music. The College is most grateful to Mr John Osborn (Classics, 1962) for his foresight and generosity at a defining moment in the history of the College.

Since the appointment in 2006 of our first Director of Music, Dr David Skinner, Sidney has progressed more quickly than anticipated toward the development of a first-rate programme in music, comparable with those offered by long-established musical foundations in Cambridge and Oxford. The remarkable success of Sidney Choir's first professional recording - These Distracted Times: The Music of Thomas Tomkins - encouraged John Osborn to create, through a benefaction exceeding one million pounds, the new Osborn Directorship of Music. This extraordinary gift is enabling Sidney to elevate the important role of Director of Music, ensuring the continued growth and success of our exceptional music programme.

John Osborn has been one of the College's most active supporters for many years. In 2007, together with two colleagues, he was inducted into the Cambridge University Guild of Benefactors, in recognition of his support for the Osborn Graduate Studentship and the Osborn Fellowship in Medieval History.

This is an archived news story, first posted in 2008.