Meet the team
meet the Musicians
We have a brilliant team of four musicians who deliver music in hospitals and healthcare sessions, and run all of our training courses. We also have an Associate Musician Mary, who creates music in the North.
Nick Cutts
CEO Musician/Trainer
Nick Cutts is a musician, trained in bassoon and piano, using guitar, whistle and voice in his practice.
In 2000, Nick founded OPUS Music CIC to create opportunities for people of all ages to experience the power of group music-making.
Richard Kensington
Musician/Trainer
Rich is a percussionist with his primary instrumental the conga drum and also plays drums, bodhrán and ukulele.
Rich joined OPUS in 2003 and has specialised in music in healthcare with OPUS since 2010.
Sarah Matthews
Musician/Trainer
Sarah is a strings player who enjoys playing the violin, viola, 5-string fiddle and octave violin, specialising in traditional folk.
Sarah joined OPUS in 2003 and has trained and worked as a Musician in Healthcare since 2010.
Oli Matthews
Musician/Trainer
Oli excels in improvisation in any key on the Clarinet, he also plays 3 row Melodeon and Low Alto Whistles.
Oli joined OPUS in 2012 and is now working across seven different healthcare settings in the Midlands area.
Mary Dunsford
Associate Musician
Mary is a harpist, and uses the lap-harp, violin, ukulele and hand percussion in her practice.
In 2013 Mary took part in our training programme, and then went on to become our Associate Musician, delivering Music in Healthcare in the North West of England.
The co-production team
Thanks to funding from Arts Council England and Youth Music we have been able to expand our production team.
Nick Cutts
Chief Executive
Nick Cutts is a musician, trained in bassoon and piano, using guitar, whistle and voice in his practice.
In 2000, Nick founded OPUS Music CIC to create opportunities for people of all ages to experience the power of group music-making.
Molly Davies
Marketing and Communications Manager
Molly joined OPUS in 2022. Molly is a musician, performer and marketing and communications consultant.
Molly has a background in music as well as an extensive history of working in Marketing and Communications across the charity and healthcare sector.
ben Armstrong
Project Manager/Co-Producer
Ben joined OPUS Music in 2023. Ben is a musician and arts project manager with extensive experience of performance and education leadership.
Ben works with a range of arts organisations on projects linked to education, events and EDI as well as maintaining a busy schedule as a performer.
Gerry De Carlo
Finance Manager
Gerry joined OPUS in 2023. Gerry has a background in classical music and has worked in the creative and not for profit sector for 30 years.
Gerry has developed businesses and commissions and has produced multi-disciplinary art projects across the UK and Europe. Those projects and organisations required solid change management and financial skills which Gerry now enthusiastically shares with OPUS.
Genny Cotroneo
Training and Learning Manager
Genny joined OPUS in 2023.
Genny has a background in community engagement with a focused expertise on human centred approaches, such as design thinking and co-design.
Genny has a 20 year background in creative industries. Genny developed a passion for public engagement which has seen her produce projects that encourage community participation.
Board Members
Our board is made up of six volunteers who have a wealth of knowledge and experience to support the work of OPUS.
Frances Watt
Frances has a background in arts administration and management working across a variety of independent, charitable and local authority structures over the past 25 years.
Frances has worked on arts projects tackling social exclusion for people living with dementia, developing theatre in education focussed on the environment, migration and refugees.
Simon Gilby
Simon has a background in health and social care, with a career spanning over 40 years which started in the voluntary/charity sector before moving into the NHS working at national, regional and local levels.
Simon is passionate about working in partnership with patients and staff to ensure the best possible care for those that need it.
Janet Cutts
Janet has been with OPUS since the beginning. She worked in the NHS for over 20 years as a radiographer and then retrained to teach maths and IT at a secondary school until retirement in 2006.
Since retirement she's worked as a volunteer education presenter for the RNLI. Janet is extremely proud of OPUS’s achievements and hopes to give support and encouragement for many years to come.
Naomi Wilds
Naomi is an independent producer and founder of Adverse Camber, one of the UK’s leading storytelling companies, working across England, Wales and internationally.
Naomi is also Artistic Director of Beyond the Border Wales International Storytelling Festival, an audio describer trainer and mentor, and is passionate about music’s benefits for everyone’s wellbeing.
Justine Schneider
Justine is a retired academic with research expertise in: music for dementia, service evaluation, carers, care homes, costs and supported employment.
She produced 'Take Care', a new opera based on Home Care research, in Nottingham in 2022.
Could you be a board member for OPUS?
We are looking to recruit at least 2 additional board members (voluntary) to support our ambitious plans for the development our organisation and practice, our engagement with the health and social care sector, and our relationship with our communities with whom we co-produce improved health and wellbeing outcomes.
Please consider joining us in taking the next steps of our exciting journey!
