Meet the Team - The Countess of Munster Musical Trust

Julia Desbruslais MBE, ARAM, HonFRHUL - Executive Director

At the age of 16, Julia won an open scholarship to study the cello with Florence Hooton at the Royal Academy of Music. During this time, she won many awards including the Suggia Award and the Leverhulme Chamber Music Scholarship. Under the direction of Sydney Griller, she was a founder member of the all-female Fairfield String Quartet. For ten years the quartet toured Britain and Europe, winning the Prague International Spring Festival and regularly broadcasting on Radio 3. On leaving the Quartet, she became Co-Principal Cello with the London Mozart Players, regularly playing as Guest Principal with other London orchestras.

With a lifelong passion for inspiring and working with young people, Julia enjoyed teaching a large school of private students, as well as running numerous music courses with LMP viola colleague and husband Michael Posner and taking on the role of Education Manager for LMP in 2013.

In 2016 she was appointed Executive Director of the LMP leading it through the Pandemic. In January 2022, Julia was awarded “Orchestral Manager of the Year” by the Association of British Orchestra, and an MBE in the platinum jubilee birthday honours list for her services to music. In July this year she became the Executive Director of the Countess of Munster Musical Trust carrying on her passion to help the next generation of young musicians.

Emily Noon - Operations Assistant

Emily has a keen interest in the arts with experience as a singer, director and administrator. At the age of 10, she performed at the Royal Opera House in their 2005 production of La Boheme. This inspired her to pursue a career in music. She has performed with the National Youth Choir of Great Britain and was a choral scholar with the London Youth Chamber Choir.

She graduated from her Masters of Music at the Royal Northern College of Music with Distinction in 2021, and since then has worked to create her own company focused on challenging gender roles within opera. Previously, she obtained a 1st Class Undergraduate Degree in Music from Goldsmiths, University of London, which influenced her academic approach to musical performance.

Emily holds a joint role as Operations Assistant with both The Countess of Munster Musical Trust and the Young Classical Artists Trust, working to support both organisations with day-today management and administration. This new “Operations Assistant” role was created jointly by both trusts to offer an opening into music and artist management for a recent graduate with a real interest in pursuing a career in arts administration.