David Roper joins NYCGB as Chair of the Board of Trustees in May 2021.

A former partner at the international professional services firm PwC, he has extensive experience as a governor and trustee of music education and performance organisations.

“The opportunities that NYCGB provides for young people to develop and perform together are incredibly valuable. I know from my own experiences growing up through the state school system, that being able to sing in choirs and ensembles can really help develop a wide range of skills which can be invaluable in later life, and I’m particularly keen that children from all backgrounds should have the opportunity to participate in music-making at the highest possible level.”

David went to Ilford County High School and the Redbridge Music School and won a choral exhibition to Selwyn College, Cambridge, where he studied music.  Following his graduation, he trained as a chartered accountant in London with Hays Allen and joined PwC in 1990 where he became a partner in 2002. Having retired from PwC in 2018, David joined the board of Atom Bank, based in Durham, and in 2019, the board of NFU Mutual. 

Throughout much of his career David continued singing with leading amateur vocal ensembles including The Chorus of the Academy of St Martin-in-the Fields, the Tallis Chamber Choir and the Manchester Chamber Choir.  He was also a lay clark at St Margaret’s, Westminster and the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula in the Tower of London for a number of years.

David has had a particular focus on education and outreach activities. As a partner in PwC in the North West, he led the firm’s community programme forging an innovative partnership with the Royal Exchange Theatre working with a range of schools and further education colleges in Manchester and received the Prince of Wales’ Regional Ambassador’s Award for his work supporting the creation of sustainable partnerships between businesses and secondary schools in Burnley.

David has previously served as a primary school governor and is currently the Deputy Chair of the Royal Northern College of Music, having become a governor in 2008. He is also the Deputy Chair of ABRSM and of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He’s a member of the CBSO Chorus with whom he sings regularly, and is president of MaleVox, a Birmingham-based barbershop choir.