In tribute: Jean Oglesby (1939 – 2025)

It is with great sadness that we receive news of the death of Jean Oglesby CBE, co-founder of the Oglesby Charitable Trust and the widow of former Chair of the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) Board of Governors, Michael Oglesby.

Jean Oglesby (right) meets with students at the RNCM

Jean was a great lover of music and supporter of young people, and The College was one of the first charities to benefit from the Oglesby’s passion for the arts. The Trust has supported three postgraduate scholarships at the RNCM every year for close to three decades, and Jean has watched the progress of her ‘Oglesby Scholars’ with immense pride – attending their performances and congratulating them personally, taking them out for lunch or dinner, and then following their professional progress. In 2024/25, Jean was very happy to be able to support a clarinettist from the same part of Lincolnshire as she was born.

Her support has been pivotal in enabling recipients to establish successful and fulfilling careers in the music profession. An instrument loan fund at the RNCM, also established through the Oglesby Charitable Trust, recognised the great difficulties faced by students in funding instrument purchase, and it continues to help students to buy their own instrument as they start their professional careers, and to pay back interest free.

The Trust made a generous capital gift towards the College’s Oxford Road wing, and the Oglesby Balcony in the Concert Hall is named in recognition of the family’s enduring philanthropy. In recent years, the Trust also supported the RNCM’s Music and Health project, working with Songbirds and Jessie’s Fund to deliver high quality music projects in children’s hospitals and SEND settings across the region.

Jean was conferred as an Honorary Member of the RNCM in 2014 and awarded the CBE in the 2016 New Year’s Honours list for Services to Philanthropy in the North West. She administered the Trust singlehandedly from the family home from 1993 to 2015 and made a truly meaningful difference to the communities in which she and her family lived, contributing over £30m to the region during her lifetime.

Principal of the RNCM, Professor Linda Merrick, said: ‘We are all deeply saddened to hear of Jean’s passing. Without question, Jean has been one of the College’s most important advocates and supporters for many years. Her contribution to and enthusiasm for the RNCM and for the success of our students has been invaluable, and she will be much missed by everyone here. Our thoughts are with her family at this sad time.’

15 August 2025