governance
4MBS is operated by the Music Broadcasting Society of Qld Ltd (MBSQ), a not-for-profit community broadcasting organisation established in Briabane in 1979. MBSQ is a company limited by guarantee. The Board of Directors is shown below, along with the stakeholder committee and staff. MBSQ operates 4MBS Classic FM (since March 1979), Silver Memories (since 2007) and the digital service, MBS Light (since 2012).
board
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MATTHEW FARRELL
4MBS Board Chair A professional musician, Matthew was cellist with the Victorian String Quartet prior to becoming Principal Cello with the Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra and after 2001 The Queensland Orchestra (now Queensland Symphony Orchestra). He has performed with as soloist throughout Australia and is a founding member of the contemporary quartet, LOCANA, releasing their debut CD in 2004. Matthew has a long history of involvement with music, performing arts development and community engagement. He was appointed to two State Government inquiries investigating funding and administration of orchestras in Queensland and overseeing the merger of the Philharmonic and Symphony Orchestras in 2001. He was a member of the Australian Orchestras Taskforce in 2003 and in 2007 and 2008 co-directed the 4MBS Festival of Classics. Matthew was Director - Orchestra Management at the QSO from 2008-2020 with responsibility for the orchestra and commercial projects. He was also responsible for planning and implementing QSO's community engagement program (2015-2017). Matthew has been Chairman of 4MBS since 2013 having been an active member of the Board since 2006. |
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COLIN RICH
4MBS Board Treasurer Colin is a Chartered Accountant, a Chartered Secretary and a Justice of the Peace(QAL) Now retired, he has had 25 years’ experience in manufacturing and ten years in restaurant industries as Director and management accountant. He has spent the last twenty years specialising in systems accounting with computers, focused on Enterprise resources programs. Colin is Board Treasurer. |
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CLIVE PORRITT
4MBS Board Secretary Clive arrived in Melbourne from the UK with his family in 1959. His first exposure to classical music was through his parents’ small collection of 78rpm records, an interest he followed at university by attending concerts there, and briefly trying to learn classical guitar. He trained as a lawyer and worked in private practice and then as a public servant for the Victorian, Queensland and Commonwealth governments, principally as a prosecutor. Clive moved to Brisbane in 1986 and after a few years of being a 4MBS subscriber, he became a Life Subscriber. He volunteers as a program presenter with 4MBS, joined the Board in 2018, became Board Secretary in 2019, and chairs the Broadcast Committee. |
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WENDY TYSON
Prior to retiring, Wendy had a long career in Australian government and university administration. She worked in the then central personnel agency of the Australian Public Service, the Public Service Board in a variety of roles, before moving to Griffith University in 1985 as manager of the research higher degree function. She has been the secretary of numerous community and professional organisations, including the Royal Institute of Public Administration, the Brisbane Cinema Group and Bulimba State School P. & C. and Tuckshop Committees. She was a founding Committee member of the Brisbane Branch of the National Trust. In recent years she had taken up the sport of archery and is a member of the Mount Petrie Bowmen Committee. She joined the Board of MBSQ in 1988 and served as Company Secretary from 1992-2019. She holds a BA from Queensland University. |
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GRAHAM ROW
Graham Row is a long-standing listener and supporter of 4MBS and particularly its community projects such as the Gothic Symphony project and tours of Amadeus. Now in retirement from medical practice, he realised that Silver Memories was much more than nostalgia radio but an extremely important, cost-effective weapon in the management of dementia. He helped to facilitate relationships with experts in the field to assist Silver Memories to achieve its full therapeutic potential with the best available professional guidance. |
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DR KERRY VANN
Kerry Vann is a versatile musician who maintains a busy schedule of performing, teaching, examining and adjudicating. She is the principal percussionist with the Brisbane Philharmonic Orchestra and Corda Spiritus and also plays with the Brisbane Excelsior Band. She sang with Opera Queensland for 10 seasons and has sung several principal roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. She teaches piano, percussion and singing and is a music examiner with ANZCA and examines throughout Australia and Asia. She holds ten degrees and diplomas: eight in music, one in languages (French, German and Japanese) and one in education. These include a Ph. D. in music from The University of Queensland and she is a Fellow of the Trinity College London in voice. While at university, she was awarded a Mitsui Educational Foundation scholarship as part of her study of Japanese and a DAAD scholarship to study in Wagner’s manuscripts in Germany for her Ph. D. on Lohengrin. |
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ANNE WARREN
Anne started as a volunteer at 4MBS in 2005 after completing postgraduate study in Arts and Cultural Management. She later become a member of staff, gaining experience in virtually all aspects of 4MBS, from broadcasting to events management, marketing and PR. Since then Anne has worked with other arts organisations in Brisbane as well as in communications in the public sector and as a freelance project manager and copywriter. Anne joined the Board of 4MBS in 2009. She plays cello and was a member of the Brisbane City Pops Orchestra prior to the arrival of her young children. |
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DEREK DIXON
Derek is a Life Subscriber to 4MBS in addition to being a long-standing Company and Board Member. He is an Economic Geologist, having worked for forty years in both corporate and government service as well as a freelancer. He is a classical music enthusiast and owns a variety of small instruments, including a Chinese drum and a horn which plays only one note. His personal musical achievements are mostly confined to school days; however he has a varied and interesting recorded music collection. Additionally, he is a freelance translator and translates German, French and Spanish into English. |
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JOHN CAHILL
John Cahill is a Queensland Barrister. He is a Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner and a National Mediator. He earned his LLB and Bachelor of Business at the Queensland University of Technology and his Master of Laws at the University of Sydney. |
staff
GARY THORPE OAM
General Manager 4MBS Classic FM, Silver Memories, Classic Arts and MBS Light
Gary Thorpe is the General Manager of Silver Memories Nostalgia Radio which he founded in 2007. He is also General Manager of two other radio stations – 4MBS Classic FM and MBS Light digital radio. He was Executive Producer of the first performance outside Britain of Havergal Brian’s Gothic Symphony, is Artistic Director of the Annual 4MBS Festival of Classics which is the largest classical music festival in the country, Producer of the 4MBS Brisbane Shakespeare Festival and Vice-President of the Havergal Brian Society. He was awarded an OAM in 2009 for his services to music and community broadcasting and in 2011 a Churchill Fellowship to study the use of music in management of dementia. Other commitments include being Deputy Chair of The Queensland Choir, Secretary of the Board of Broadcasting Park Pty. Ltd. and Treasurer of the Queensland Community Broadcasting Association. He has also been a Board Member of Jupiter’s Casino Community Benefit Fund, a Member of the Arts Faculty Board of Studies, University of Queensland, Chair of the Broadcasting Committee of the Music Council of Australia (MCA), Secretary/Vice President of the Australian Society for Education Through the Arts and Chairman, Music Broadcasting Society of Queensland Ltd.
General Manager 4MBS Classic FM, Silver Memories, Classic Arts and MBS Light
Gary Thorpe is the General Manager of Silver Memories Nostalgia Radio which he founded in 2007. He is also General Manager of two other radio stations – 4MBS Classic FM and MBS Light digital radio. He was Executive Producer of the first performance outside Britain of Havergal Brian’s Gothic Symphony, is Artistic Director of the Annual 4MBS Festival of Classics which is the largest classical music festival in the country, Producer of the 4MBS Brisbane Shakespeare Festival and Vice-President of the Havergal Brian Society. He was awarded an OAM in 2009 for his services to music and community broadcasting and in 2011 a Churchill Fellowship to study the use of music in management of dementia. Other commitments include being Deputy Chair of The Queensland Choir, Secretary of the Board of Broadcasting Park Pty. Ltd. and Treasurer of the Queensland Community Broadcasting Association. He has also been a Board Member of Jupiter’s Casino Community Benefit Fund, a Member of the Arts Faculty Board of Studies, University of Queensland, Chair of the Broadcasting Committee of the Music Council of Australia (MCA), Secretary/Vice President of the Australian Society for Education Through the Arts and Chairman, Music Broadcasting Society of Queensland Ltd.
MAGGIE FINDLAY
Administration Manager
Maggie has been with 4MBS since 1999, and began her involvement as Director of our annual Festival of Classics, making it a highly successful major festival in the Brisbane festival season. Maggie's background in music is deeply ingrained, being a former D'Oyly Carte singer, and married to the late international opera conductor John Matheson.
Administration Manager
Maggie has been with 4MBS since 1999, and began her involvement as Director of our annual Festival of Classics, making it a highly successful major festival in the Brisbane festival season. Maggie's background in music is deeply ingrained, being a former D'Oyly Carte singer, and married to the late international opera conductor John Matheson.
PETER MCCAHON
4MBS Broadcasts and Sponsorships Manager
Peter has been with 4MBS Classic FM since 2001. Prior to joining the station he was in senior positions with several of Brisbane's leading commercial radio stations. His wealth of experience in radio advertising enables him to match clients to suitable programs and promotion packages.
4MBS Broadcasts and Sponsorships Manager
Peter has been with 4MBS Classic FM since 2001. Prior to joining the station he was in senior positions with several of Brisbane's leading commercial radio stations. His wealth of experience in radio advertising enables him to match clients to suitable programs and promotion packages.
NICK GUROVIC
Program Guide Editor and Concerts Recording Team Manager
Program Guide Editor and Concerts Recording Team Manager
JOHN CARRIER
4MBS Ticketing, Music Diary & Performance Studio Manager, MBS Light Broadcasts Manager
4MBS Ticketing, Music Diary & Performance Studio Manager, MBS Light Broadcasts Manager
ELAINE SEETO
Marketing and Events Producer (part-time)
Starting musical life as a violinist and composer, she has forged a career in concert producing and marketing with a passion for supporting classical musicians. She has worked with Southern Cross Soloists and Bangalow Music Festival, Topology, the UQ School of Music and others producing and marketing concerts at QPAC, Brisbane Powerhouse, Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts, Melbourne Recital Centre and more.
Elaine holds a BA (Music), a Grad. Dip. in Film & TV Music and a Grad. Cert. in Creative Industries and Arts Management.
Marketing and Events Producer (part-time)
Starting musical life as a violinist and composer, she has forged a career in concert producing and marketing with a passion for supporting classical musicians. She has worked with Southern Cross Soloists and Bangalow Music Festival, Topology, the UQ School of Music and others producing and marketing concerts at QPAC, Brisbane Powerhouse, Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts, Melbourne Recital Centre and more.
Elaine holds a BA (Music), a Grad. Dip. in Film & TV Music and a Grad. Cert. in Creative Industries and Arts Management.
JEANNETTE SAEZ
Accounts Administrator (part-time)
Accounts Administrator (part-time)