Announcement

Kings Place Music Foundation today announced that Helen Wallace will be leaving her role as Artistic and Executive Director at the end of January to become Head of Music at the Barbican from February 2024.

Helen joined Kings Place in an advisory role in 2009, becoming Director of Programming in 2018 and Artistic and Executive Director in 2020. During her time at Kings Place, Helen led on the Unwrapped series, including Cello, Time, London and Venus Unwrapped, the pioneering series on women composers which won a RPS Award in 2019, and she was awarded Concert Hall Manager of the Year by the Association of British Orchestras in 2020.

Peter Millican OBE, Founder Executive Chair of Kings Place, said ‘Helen joined Kings Place in 2009, broadening the venue’s diverse music and spoken word programmes and establishing ever-more original and imaginative ideas. She guided the charity through the covid crisis with calm, resilience and strength. Her legacy is a strong executive and programming team, soundly-established relationships with our artistic associates and an inspiring season in place for 2024.

KPMF’s Board of Trustees, the Executive Team and all the Company, together with the diverse and growing audiences and friends, will greatly miss her leadership as well as her presence at so many of our concerts and events. We all wish Helen well in her new role knowing that, with her creativity and experience, she will continue to raise the quality of music in London.’

Helen Wallace, Executive and Artistic Director of Kings Place, said ‘It has been my great privilege and joy to work at Kings Place over many years, building on Peter Millican’s visionary new venue model with an exceptionally gifted team. I leave behind an organisation with a highly distinctive offering and a strong sense of mission in its DNA. I look forward to seeing it reach new heights.’ 

As Kings Place Music Foundation celebrates fifteen years of music making at King’s Cross, Peter Millican OBE will work with the board of trustees and the team to identify and appoint a successor, who will build on Helen’s work and take the Foundation forward into its next aspirational and exciting decade.