Management Committee
The Management Committee of the Orange Regional Conservatorium is comprised of seven elected members who have responsibility for the governance and oversight of the Conservatorium. The members of the 2024 Management Committee have a range of complementary skills and interests - communal, financial, legal, educational and philanthropic - to help guide our Conservatorium into the future.
Pam Ryan | Chairperson
Pam is Chair of our Conservatorium, elected March 2022. Pam’s background is education, spending 10 years as Principal of Orange High School, seven as a Director of Government schools in the Orange district, and then several years overseas in the international school sector. One of her great joys as an educator has been to see music and the arts thrive, driving the culture and ethos of schools.
In civic life, Pam was an Orange City Councillor and Deputy Mayor. In private life, she has long taken a keen interest in community sport, particularly that most beautiful of games, netball.
John O’Malley | Treasurer
John is the ORC Treasurer. He has over thirty years’ experience as a Chartered Accountant and Registered Company Auditor. During that time, he has seen both the good and the bad of management and governance in the not-for-profit sector. Drawing from that experience he brings to the Conservatorium:
Expertise in financial management and reporting
A clear understanding of the Committee responsibility for setting strategy and Management’s responsibility for execution
The willingness and ability to constructively question and challenge management proposals
John enjoys family activities with his three children, cycling, skiing, is a private pilot and occasionally torments the ORC staff by taking singing lessons.
Paul Kelly | Secretary
Paul was first elected to the Management Committee in 2019 and is currently Secretary and Vice Chair. Paul is a retired psychologist and educator who managed school counselling and student wellbeing programs across the Western NSW, Riverina and New England regions for the NSW Department of Education. Together with management and organisation skills, Paul brings to the Management Committee considerable experience as a previous board member of other not-for-profit community-based organisations. He is a founding member and current treasurer of Just Add Music (JAM) Orange.
Paul is an ORC volunteer and teaches ukulele to a beginner’s group at the ORC. He is a self-taught, performing musician with a keen interest in all music genres. Paul is committed to supporting musicians, music performance and highlighting the value of music to community wellbeing
Sarah Carter
Sarah joined the ORC board in 2020 after having a long association with the Orange Regional Conservatorium. Through her and her children’s tuition, as well as ensemble participation, she has gained a deep understanding of the Con’s values and work practises and is excited about the ORC’s vision of providing outstanding musical education and exceptional performances to the Orange community.
Sarah has a Bachelor of Economics and is a practising Financial Planner. Her next step with the ORC’s journey is to be involved in the fundraising committee to help fund the fit out of the new ORC building.
Sarah is a passionate musician, playing cello in her string quartet with friends as well as the Orange Symphony Orchestra. Sarah and her husband have 4 children who all love participating in musical activities.
Roslyn Hodges
Ros was elected to the Conservatorium management committee in 2019. Her background is in education with a particular focus on early childhood. Before retirement she managed NSW government funding contracts in the Central West, ensuring not-for-profit organisations achieve required goals according to their funding agreements.
Since retiring, Ros has had the opportunity and time to volunteer with the Conservatorium, Friends of the Regional Gallery and Food Care. Her main interests are water colour painting, playing the ukulele, tai chi and attending the seniors’ gym.
Ros is particularly interested to encourage links between early childhood services and the Conservatorium to provide opportunities to experience music in all its forms.
Adrienne Myles
Adrienne joined the Management Committee in September 2023 to fill a casual vacancy. She has been connected with the ORC, via the Come Together Choir which she joined not long after moving to Orange in late 2017. Adrienne has recently joined the Wednesday percussion group and enjoys the variety of instruments available to try. Not being particularly musical this option is proving a good fit.
Adrienne’s background is in sales and marketing mostly in IT. She moved to Orange in 2017 and ran a wine touring business with her husband until retiring in 2019. Adrienne has been a member of Orange Daybreak Rotary Club since moving to Orange and enjoys fund raising funds for local charities.
Adrienne is looking forward to assisting with fundraising for the fit-out of the new building.
Paris Willis
Paris joined the Management Committee in 2021.
Paris is a practising Solicitor with a Diploma of Law from the Legal Profession Admission Board and a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Sydney.
In a past life Paris was a publican and café owner.
Paris enjoys music and covets the ability of those who can read and play it - but has absolutely no aptitude herself!